Cytotoxicity of prodigiosin and benznidazole on V79 cells

Abstract

The cytotoxicity of prodigiosin, an antibiotic and potential trypanocide produced by Serratia marcescens, and Benznidazole, a trypanocidal drug, were assayed on V79 fibroblast cell line. Three independent endpoints for cytotoxicity were evaluated; namely, the nucleic acid content (NAC), MTT reduction and neutral red uptake (NRU). IC 50 values of 1–20 μM were obtained for prodigiosin in the NRU, MTT and NAC tests. Prodigiosin had greater trypanocidal activity (IC 50=5 μM) than Nifurtimox (IC 50=150 μM) a known trypanocide drug used in Chagas' disease therapy. Benznidazole was less toxic (IC 50=2000 μM) than prodigiosin (IC 50=1–20 μM) in V79 cells based on the MTT and NAC assays. Benznidazole stimulated the NRU until 2 mM. Indeed, the cell viability measured with the NRU was higher at all concentrations of benznidazole tested than that measured by MTT reduction and NAC assays.