The butanolic fraction (BT-II) derived from the aqueous crude extract was prepared from aerial parts of Baccharis trimera and assessed in anti-inflammatory, analgesia, and ulcerogenesis models. Intraperitoneal pretreatment with lyophilized BT-II, at doses ranging from 40 to 100 mg/kg, markedly inhibited carrageenan- and dextran-induced inflammation (70.4-90.8% and 25.7-71.3%, respectively) and weakly decreased C₁₆-paf-and arachidonic acid-induced swelling (24.9-36.7% and 0-30.6%, respectively). No effect was observed, at the same doses, on zymosan-induced edema. The intraperitoneal examination indicates that the anti-phlogistic action of BT-II was not due to an irritating effect at the injection site. Besides, BT-II reduced abdominal constrictions in mice following injection of acetic acid: at 50 mg/kg, it gave 67.4% inhibition and, at 100 mg/kg, 95.1%. The ulcerogenic assay showed that the incidence of ulcers after BT-II i.p. treatment was 2/6 at 50 mg/kg and 6/6 at 100 mg/kg. Ulcerogenic indices were 1.3 ± 0.5 and 2.7 ± 0.8, respectively. These results indicate that B. trimera shows strong anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties which seem to be due, at least partly, to the inhibition of prostaglandin biosynthesis. The chromatographic separation of BT-II monitored by bio-assay (carrageenan-induced edema test in mice) was carried out. The active constituents were found to be mainly saponins in which echinocystic acid (or its enantiomer) is the major aglycone, and also rutin.

Artichoke leaf extract was studied in human leukocytes for activity against oxidative stress using flow cytometry and dichlorofluorescin diacetate as a fluorescence probe. It produces a concentration-dependent inhibition of oxidative stress when cells are stimulated with agents that generate reactive oxygen species (ROS): hydrogen peroxide, phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA), and N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP). Cynarin, caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, and luteolin, constituents of artichoke leaf extract, also show a concentration-dependent inhibitory activity in the above models, contributing to the antioxidant activity of the extract in human neutrophils.

The essential oil composition of three Zingiberaceae widely used as medicinal aromatic plants from S. Tomé and Príncipe: Aframomum danielli (Hook. f.) K. Schum., Curcuma longa L. and Zingiber officinale Rosc. was studied. Two samples of the essential oils from fruit of A. danielli and from rhizomes of the other two species, were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC, GC-MS, and ¹³C-NMR. The essential oil from fruits of A. danielli has been studied for the first time and was characterised by its high content of monoterpenes, with 1,8-cineole (25.5 - 34.4 %) the major constituent, followed by β-pinene (14.1 - 15.2 %) and α-terpineol (9.9 - 12.1 %). Essential oils from the rhizomes of C. longa contained a lower content of ar-turmerone (4.0 - 12.8 %) than those reported in the literature for C. longa from other origins (24.7 - 31.4 %), whereas the results for Z. officinale essential oils were in accordance with the literature data. The essential oils of A. danielli and Z. officinale showed antimicrobial activity against all Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria tested, as well as against yeasts and filamentous fungi, using the agar diffusion method.