Anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of 6α,7β–dihydroxy-vouacapan-17β-oic acid isolated from Pterodon emarginatus Vog. fruits

6α,7β-dihydroxy-vouacapan-17β-oic (tricyclic furanoid diterpene; DHVO) acid was isolated from the hexane extract of Pterodon emarginatus fruits and evaluated for anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects using an assay that induces paw oedema with carrageenan, dextran and prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) in rats and the writhing and formalin tests in mice. Oral administration of 50 mg/kg DHVO significantly inhibited carrageenan-induced oedema formation by 24% (p < 0.05). This treatment did not inhibit dextran-induced oedema but was effective when the inflammatory effect was triggered by PGE₂, inhibiting oedema formation by 39% (p < 0.05). In the writhing test, doses of 50, 200 and 400 mg/kg resulted in a dose-dependent effect with a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.983 (F = 29.04, ANOVA). Doses of 50 and 100 mg/kg inhibited both the neurogenic and inflammatory phases (p < 0.05) in the formalin test but were not effective for increasing the lag time in the hot plate test. Together, these results suggest that DHVO has both anti-inflammatory and peripheral analgesic effects.