Comparative effects of stem and leaf extracts from Pereskia aculeata (ora-pro-nóbis) on skeletal muscle, kidney and liver following hind limb ischemia-reperfusion in rats.

Authors

Bianca Miranda Vital, Marcos Vinicius Zan Malaguti, Matheus Felipe Camargo, Wagner Corsini, Maria Laura Fonseca Natucci, Luis Felipe Cunha Dos Reis, João Marcos Oliveira-Silva, Flávia Da Ré Guerra, Angel Maurício Castro-Gamero, Marcelo Jose Dias Silva, Luis Henrique Rapucci Moraes, Túlio de Almeida Hermes

Published in

Journal of integrative medicine. Oct 15, 2026. Epub Oct 15, 2026.

Abstract

Pereskia aculeata Mill. (Cactaceae), known as "ora-pro-nóbis," is traditionally consumed as food and employed in Brazilian folk medicine for wound healing and inflammation. This study aimed to comparatively evaluate the biological effects and safety of hydroethanolic extracts from the P. aculeata leaves (HEPaL) and stems (HEPaS) in a rat model of skeletal muscle ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury.
The phytochemical profiles of HEPaL and HEPaS were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Bioinformatic analyses, including target prediction, molecular docking and absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion assessment, were performed to explore potential interactions. Male Wistar rats were subjected to 30-minute hindlimb ischemia followed by reperfusion and subsequently treated with HEPaL (100 mg/kg), HEPaS (100 mg/kg), or dipyrone (80 mg/kg) for 7 d. Serum biomarkers and histopathology of muscle, liver and kidneys and oxidative stress, inflammatory and regenerative markers, were evaluated.
Both extracts contained phenolic acids, terpenoids and flavonoids. HEPaL was associated with lower creatine kinase levels, preserved muscle structure through increased catalase activity, and reduced glutathione and myosin heavy chain 3 levels. Conversely, HEPaS was associated with elevated urea and glomerular alterations and showed limited protection against muscle injury.
HEPaL was associated with differences in markers related to muscle injury and regeneration in muscle I/R injury. In contrast, HEPaS showed alterations in renal parameters, indicating the need for further safety evaluation. Please cite this article as: Vital BM, Malaguti MVZ, Camargo MF, Corsini W, Natucci MLF, Dos Reis LFC, Oliveira-Silva JM, Da Ré Guerra F, Castro-Gamero AM, Silva MJD, Moraes LHR, Hermes TA. Comparative effects of stem and leaf extracts from Pereskia aculeata (ora-pro-nóbis) on skeletal muscle, kidney and liver following hind limb ischemia-reperfusion in rats. J Integr Med. 2026; Epub ahead of print.

PMID:
42967840
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 02 Nov 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.