Evaluation of the antiplasmodial and leishmanicidal potential of Myrciaria dubia (Myrtaceae) extract

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: Vanessa Carolina de Sena Correia, Nathália Oliveira Lima, Flávio Augusto de Souza Oliveira, Ana Paula de Azevedo dos Santos, Carolina Bioni Garcia Teles, Waldesse Piragé de Oliveira Júnior, and Raphael Sanzio Pimenta
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT)
• Subjects: Plasmodium falciparum; Leishmania spp; Camu-camu; Canguçu; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0227-2016; https://doaj.org/article/3fd66cb44d0c4d659f7e1172709842da

Abstract INTRODUCTION: Malaria and leishmaniasis are prevalent in tropical regions, which have environmental characteristics that are highly favorable to protozoa and vectors of these diseases; the transmission of these infections in sub-tropical regions, although recognized, represents only a small fraction of cases. Plants are constantly being used in the search for and acquisition of new drugs, and many compounds derived from them have been used to combat various diseases. In this study, we evaluated the action of the dichloromethanolic extract of Myrciaria dubia leaves against the protozoa Plasmodium falciparum, Leishmania amazonensis, Leishmania braziliensis, and Leishmania chagasi through bioassays. METHODS The extract from M. dubia was tested for its anti-P. falciparum activity in an anti-histidine-rich protein II immunosorbent assay. The antileishmanial assays were performed using the resazurin method, while cytotoxicity against human hepatoma (HepG2) strain was determined using the colorimetric MTT [3-(4, 5-dimethyl-2- thiazolyl)-2, 5-diphenyl-2H tetrazolium bromide] method. RESULTS The M. dubia extract presented a half-maximal inhibitory concentration equal to 2.35 (1.05)μg/mL for P. falciparum, 190.73 (6.41) μg/mL for L. amazonensis, and greater than equal to 200µg/mL for L. chagasi and L. braziliensis strains. The cytotoxic concentration for 50% of the cells was above 500μg/mL for HepG2, indicating no toxicity and greater selectivity against parasites. CONCLUSIONS The results obtained indicate the presence of antiplasmodial and leishmanicidal bioactive compounds in the dichloromethanolic extracts of M. dubia leaves, and point towards future studies to elucidate the mechanism of action for each physiological effect.