Abstract
Trypanosoma cruzi is the agent of Chagas' disease and affects approximately 6-8 million people worldwide. The search for new anti-T. cruzi drugs are relevant because only two drugs exist actually. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of the extracts from the seeds of Lonchocarpus cultratus on T. cruzi, its cytotoxicity as well as to elucidate its chemical profile. The characterization of the extracts was done using 1H-RMN. T. cruzi forms were treated with increasing concentrations of the extracts and after, the percentage of inhibition and IC50 or LC50 were calculated. Murine peritoneal macrophages were treated with different concentrations of the extracts to evaluate the cellular viability. The hemotoxicity was accessed by verifying the levels of hemolysis caused by the extracts on human red blood cells. Chalcones isocordoin and lonchocarpin were detected in the dichloromethane extract, and chalcone lonchocarpin was detected in the hexane extract. The dichloromethane extract showed higher activity against all the forms of T. cruzi compared to the other two extracts, but the hexane showed the best selectivity index. The cytotoxicity observed in murine macrophages was confirmed in human erythrocytes, with dichloromethane extract having the highest toxicity. The methanolic extract showed the lowest anti-T. cruzi activity but was nontoxic to peritoneal murine macrophages and red blood cells. L. cultratus extracts have the potential to be explored for the development of new anti-trypanosomal drugs. This study was the first to demonstrate the action of extracts from the genus Lonchocarpus on infecting forms of T. cruzi.
Highlights
Trypanosoma cruzi is the agent of Chagas’ disease and affects approximately 6-8 million people worldwide
The chemical characterization of each extract (LHS, LDS, and LMS) was performed by 1H Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), comparing the 1H signals with those described in the literature
The 1H NMR spectra show that the LHS and LDS extracts are constituted mainly by substances of low and medium polarity, such as those extracted by the solvents used to obtain LHS and LDS
Summary
Trypanosoma cruzi is the agent of Chagas’ disease and affects approximately 6-8 million people worldwide. The dichloromethane extract showed higher activity against all the forms of T. cruzi compared to the other two extracts, but the hexane showed the best selectivity index. The cytotoxicity observed in murine macrophages was confirmed in human erythrocytes, with dichloromethane extract having the highest toxicity. The methanolic extract showed the lowest anti-T. cruzi activity but was nontoxic to peritoneal murine macrophages and red blood cells. There are approximately seven million people who have been diagnosed with Chagas’ disease and approximately ten thousand deaths annually related to this pathology [2]. There are cases of Chagas’ disease in high-income countries, such as Canada, Spain, and the United States, even though they are considered nonendemic regions. The principal cause of the cases in these countries is the presence of migrants from endemic countries [5]
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