Essential oil from leaves of Lantana camara: a potential source of medicine against leishmaniasis

Leishmaniasis is an infection of viscera or tegument caused by protozoa Leishmania sp. The extensive period required for the treatment, which involves the use of toxic medicines, leads patients to drop treatment increasing the development of resistant forms of Leishmania sp. Lantana camara L., Verbenaceae, is a tropical plant native from America. Folk uses have been described for treatment of tumors, tetanus, rheumatism and malaria. This study evaluates the leishmanicidal activity of the essential oil of leaves from L. camara on promastigote forms of Leishmania chagasi and L. amazonensis and its toxic effects on Artemia salina (brine shrimp test), macrophage cultures and BALB/c mice. The chemical composition was evaluated using the gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometer (GC-MS). Thirty substances, mostly mono and sesquiterpenes were identified. The most representative constituents were: germacrene D (24.90%), farnesene derivatives (22%) and (E)-cariophylene (14.31%). Bioassays revealed a significant leishmanicidal activity of essential oil against L. amazonensis (IC50 0.25 µg/ mL) and a potential toxic effect on Brine shrimp (LC50 10 µg/mL) and macrophage assays (CC50 4 µg/mL), while there was no toxic manifestation on mice. The data show the relevant potential of L. camara as a source of medicine for leishmaniasis treatment.

Atividades antimicrobiana e leishmanicida das sementes de Pterodon emarginatus Vogel / Antimicrobial and leishmanicidal activities of seeds of Pterodon emarginatus

O presente trabalho investigou as atividades antimicrobiana e leishmanicida das sementes de Pterodon emarginatus Vogel. O potencial antimicrobiano do óleo essencial (OE) obtido das sementes foi avaliado através dos testes de difusão em ágar (10, 25 e 50 mg) e determinação da concentração inibitória mínima e utilizou os microorganismos-padrão: Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Streptococcus mutans ATCC 25175, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 90271, Escherichia coli ATCC 10530 e Candida albicans ATCC 10231. A atividade leishmanicida do OE e frações (6,25 - 100 µg/mL) obtidas das sementes de P. emarginatus foram testadas, in vitro, sobre formas promastigotas de L. amazonensis e L. chagasi. O OE das sementes de P. emarginatus inibiu o crescimento somente de S. aureus (CIM = 2,5 mg/mL). As frações hexânica (IC50 = 50,06 µg/mL) e butanólica (IC50 = 46,65 µg/mL) apresentaram atividade frente às formas promastigotas de L. amazonensis, porém não apresentaram atividade frente a L. chagasi. Os resultados indicam que as moléculas bioativas presentes nas sementes de P. emarginatus podem ser utilizadas como protótipos para o desenvolvimento de fármacos e/ou como fonte de matérias-primas farmacêuticas.

The present work investigated the antimicrobial and leishmanicidal activities of seeds of Pterodon emarginatus. The tests of diffusion in agar (10, 25 and 50 mg) and determination of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) were performed using essential oil (EO) obtained from seeds using the standard microorganisms: Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Streptococcus mutans ATCC 25175, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 90271, Escherichia coli ATCC 10530 and Candida albicans ATCC 10231. Leishmanicidal activity of the EO and fractions (6.25 - 100 µg/ml) obtained of seeds of P. emarginatus was evaluated in vitro using L. amazonensis and L. chagasi promastigote forms. The EO inhibited the growth of S. aureus (MIC = 2.5 mg/ml). The hexane (IC50 = 50.06 µg/ ml) and butanol (IC50 = 46.65 µg/ml) fractions showed activity against L. amazonensis promastigote forms, but did not against L. chagasi promastigote forms. The results indicate that the bioactive molecules present in the seeds of P. emarginatus can be used as prototype for the development of drug and/or as source pharmaceutical material.