Abstract
BackgroundPlinia cerrocampanensis is an endemic plant of Panama. The leaf essential oil of this plant has shown antibacterial activity. However, anti-malarial activity and chemical profiling by HS-SPME-GC-MS of this essential oil have not been reported before.MethodsAnti-malarial activity of the essential oil (EO) was evaluated in vitro against chloroquine-sensitive HB3 and chloroquine-resistant W2 strains of Plasmodium falciparum. Synergistic effect of chloroquine and the EO on parasite growth was evaluated by calculating the combination index. A methodology involving headspace solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) was developed to investigate the composition of Plinia cerrocampanensis EO.ResultsPlinia cerrocampanensis EO showed a high anti-malarial activity and a synergistic interaction with chloroquine. The Plinia cerrocampanensis EO inhibited P. falciparum growth in vitro at an IC50 of 7.3 μg/mL. Chloroquine together with the EO decreased the IC50 of chloroquine from 0.1 μg/mL to 0.05 μg/mL, and of the EO from 7.3 μg/mL to 1.1 μg/mL. The measured combination index was 0.58, which clearly indicates that the EO acts synergistically with chloroquine. Since the EO maintained its inhibitory activity on the chloroquine-sensitive strain of the parasite, it could be acting by a different mechanism of action than chloroquine. The best HS-SPME-GC-MS analytical conditions were obtained when the temperature of extraction was 49°C, incubation time 14 min, and the time of extraction 10 min. This method allowed for the identification of 53 volatile constituents in the EO, including new compounds not reported earlier.ConclusionsThe anti-malarial activity exhibited by the Plinia cerrocampanensis EO may lend support for its possible use as an alternative for anti-malarial therapy.
Highlights
Plinia cerrocampanensis is an endemic plant of Panama
Headspace solid phase microextraction fibre selection The first Headspace-solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) parameter optimized for characterization of the metabolites of Plinia cerrocampanensis essential oil (EO) was the selection of the SPME fibre
While CQ shows difference in IC50 in the resistant (IC50 = 0.1 μg/mL) and sensitive (IC50 = 0.01 μg/mL) strains, the EO maintained its level of activity, in both the resistant (IC50 = 7.3 μg/mL) and sensitive (IC50 = 10.2 μg/mL) strains. These results suggest that the EO may be using another mechanism that does not involve inhibition of β-haematin formation nor inhibition of the peroxidative degradation of haemin, since CQ and other quinolones with anti-malarial activity are thought to act through these two mechanisms [26,27]
Summary
Plinia cerrocampanensis is an endemic plant of Panama. The leaf essential oil of this plant has shown antibacterial activity. Anti-malarial activity and chemical profiling by HS-SPME-GC-MS of this essential oil have not been reported before. SPME, which is a simple, fast, sensitive, solvent-free method developed by Pawliszyn et al [10,11] in the early 1990s, and used for research in many fields, such as cancer [12], medicinal plants [13] and metabolomic analysis [14]. This methodology was used by Da Porto and Decorti [15] for the determination of the aroma profile of the EO obtained by hydro-distillation of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) flowers
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