Agave sisalana extract induces cell death in Aedes aegypti hemocytes increasing nitric oxide production

• Published in: Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine
• Main Authors: Louise Helena Guimarães de Oliveira, Patricia Alexandria Paiva Silva de Sousa, Fabrine Felipe Hilario, Gabriel Joventino Nascimento, João Paulo Saraiva Morais, Everaldo Paulo de Medeiros, Manoel Francisco de Sousa, Fabiola da Cruz Nunes
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2016
• Subjects: Sisal; Cell culture; Mosquito; Insecticide; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Biology (General); QH301-705.5; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apjtb.2015.12.018; https://doaj.org/article/87a36c6fbe5f4dfbbe86bd7dfee2e66d

Objective: To investigate the effects of Agave sisalana (A. sisalana) extract on Aedes aegypti (Ae. aegypti) primary cell culture. Methods: Cells of Ae. aegypti were exposed to different concentrations of A. sisalana crude extract (0.18–6.00 mg/mL) for 24 h. Then, the cells were labeled with propidium iodide and subjected to fluorescence microscopy to verify cell viability. In addition, nitric oxide production was measured. Results: Results showed that cells exposed to 6 mg/mL of the crude extract presented a greater percentage of death when compared to control (73.8% ± 9.6% vs. 34.6% ± 9.6%). Furthermore, there was an increase in the nitric oxide production in cells exposed to 6 mg/mL of A. sisalana crude extract [(0.81 ± 0.08) μmol/L] compared to control group [(0.41 ± 0.18) μmol/L]. Conclusions: The results show that A. sisalana is cytotoxic to Ae. aegypti and may be used as raw material for new eco-friendly and inexpensive insecticides, since sisal industry discards the liquid waste for the extraction of plant fiber.