Full Length ArticleInhibitory effect of Campomanesia xanthocarpa in platelet aggregation: Comparison and synergism with acetylsalicylic acid

•C. xanthocarpa inhibits platelet aggregation induced by arachidonic acid.•The association between ASA and C. xanthocarpa potentiates the inhibitory effect.•C. xanthocarpa associated with aspirin prolonged antiplatelet effect.

Background and aimsCardiovascular diseases of thrombotic origin are related to high mortality and standard therapeutic agent used in this case is acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), but serious adverse events may occur. However, recent data has suggested the plant Campomanesia xanthocarpa has antiplatelet activity and could be a viable alternative. In this study we investigated the effects of the encapsulated powder of this plant in human platelet aggregation.Methods23 healthy subjects were randomly divided into three groups: (1) ASA (100 mg), (2) C. xanthocarpa (1000 mg) or (3) synergism (500 mg of C. xanthocarpa plush 50 mg of ASA); daily for five days. Antiplatelet activity was determined by turbidimetric method using ADP or arachidonic acid (AA) agonists before, 5 and 8 days after treatments.ResultsTreatment with C. xanthocarpa and synergism caused a reduction of 8 ± 13.5% and 12.5 ± 5% in platelet aggregation induced by ADP after 5 days of treatment, respectively, returning to basal levels after 8 days. For AA agonist, 5 days of treatment with C. xanthocarpa, ASA or synergism caused a reduction of 46 ± 15%, 36 ± 12% and 69.3 ± 6% in platelet aggregation, respectively, and first two groups returned to baseline values 8 days after treatment ended. Synergism group prolonged antiplatelet effect maintaining aggregation reduction after 8 days the end of treatment.ConclusionC. xanthocarpa showed antiplatelet action when stimulated by agonist AA, and contributed to the antiplatelet effect when associated with ASA for both agonists, allowing dose reduction to 50 mg.