<i>Endlicheria bracteolata</i> (Meisn.) Essential Oil as a Weapon Against <i>Leishmania amazonensis</i>: In Vitro Assay

oleh: Mariana Margatto Rottini, Ana Claudia Fernandes Amaral, José Luiz Pinto Ferreira, Edinilze Souza Coelho Oliveira, Jefferson Rocha de Andrade Silva, Noemi Nosomi Taniwaki, Arith Ramos dos Santos, Fernando Almeida-Souza, Celeste da Silva Freitas de Souza, Kátia da Silva Calabrese

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2019-07-01

Deskripsi

The difficulties encountered and the numerous side effects present in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis have encouraged the research for new compounds that can complement or replace existing treatment. The growing scientific interest in the study of plants, which are already used in folk remedies, has led our group to test <i>Endlicheria bracteolata</i> essential oil against <i>Leishmania amazonensis</i>. Several species of the <i>Lauraceae</i> family, or their compounds, have relevant antiprotozoal activities Therefore, the biological potential on <i>L. amazonensis</i> forms from the essential oil of <i>Endlicheria bracteolata</i> leaves was verified for the first time in that work. The antileishmanial activity was evaluated against promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes, and cytotoxicity were performed with J774.G8, which were incubated with different concentrations of <i>E. bracteolata</i> essential oil. Transmission electron microscopy and flow cytometry were performed with <i>E. bracteolata</i> essential oil IC<sub>50</sub>. Promastigote forms showed <i>E. bracteolata</i> essential oil IC<sub>50</sub> of 7.945 &#177; 1.285 &#181;g/mL (24 h) and 6.186 &#177; 1.226 &#181;g/mL (48 h), while for intracellular amastigote forms it was 3.546 &#177; 1.184 &#181;g/mL (24 h). The CC<sub>50</sub> was 15.14 &#177; 0.090 &#181;g/mL showing that <i>E. bracteolata</i> essential oil is less toxic to macrophages than to parasites. Transmission electron microscopy showed that <i>E. bracteolata</i> essential oil treatment is capable of inducing mitochondrial damage to promastigote and intracellular amastigote forms, while flow cytometry showed &#916;Ѱm disruption in treated parasites. These results could bring about new possibilities to develop products based on <i>E. bracteolata</i> essential oil to treat cutaneous leishmaniasis, especially for people who cannot receive the conventional therapy.