Acta Scientiarum http://www.uem.br/acta ISSN printed: 1806-2563 ISSN on-line: 1807-8664 Doi: 10.4025/actascitechnol.v35i3.15365 Antinociceptive activity and acute toxicological study of a novel sulfated polysaccharide from Caulerpa cupressoides var. lycopodium (Chlorophyta) in Swiss mice José Ariévilo Gurgel Rodrigues1, Edfranck de Sousa Oliveira Vanderlei2, Ana Luíza Gomes Quinderé2, Valdécio Silvano Monteiro2, Silvânia Maria Mendes de Vasconcelos3 and Norma Maria Barros Benevides1* 1Laboratório de Carboidratos e Lectinas, Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Av. Mister Hull, s/n, 60455-970, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. 2Programa de Pós-graduação em Bioquímica, Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. 3Departamento de Fisiologia e Farmacologia, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. *Author for correspondence. E-mail:
[email protected] ABSTRACT. Caulerpa cupressoides var. lycopodium (Chlorophyta) contains three sulfated polysaccharides (SPs) fractions (SP1, SP2 and SP3); but, their pharmacological properties have been limited. We investigated the antinociceptive activity of non-anticoagulant fraction (SP1) and then its acute toxicological study in male Swiss mice was performed. Animals (19-25 g) received i.v. SP1 30 min. prior to injection 0.8% acetic acid (10 mL kg-1, i.p.); 1% formalin (20 μL, i.pl.) or were subjected to thermal stimuli. Open-field test was -1 th also performed. Mice were treated i.p. with SP1 or 0.9% saline (0.1 mL 10 g ) for 72h. On the 4 day, the animals were anesthetized and sacrificed in order to collect blood and organs. SP1 (3, 9 or 27 mg kg-1) reduced (p < 0.05) the number of writhes induced by acetic acid by 44.21, 47.72 and 90.87%, respectively.