Abstract
Essential oils from fresh Piperaceae leaves were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC–MS), and a total of 68 components were identified. Principal components analysis results showed a chemical variability between species, with sesquiterpene compounds predominating in the majority of species analyzed. The composition of the essential oil of Piper mosenii was described for the first time. The cytotoxicity of the essential oils was evaluated in peritoneal macrophages and the oils of P. rivinoides, P. arboretum, and P. aduncum exhibited the highest values, with cytotoxic concentration at 50% (CC50) > 200 µg/mL. Both P. diospyrifolium and P. aduncum displayed activity against Leishmania amazonensis, and were more selective for the parasite than for the macrophages, with a selectivity index (SI) of 2.35 and >5.52, respectively. These SI values were greater than the 1 for the standard drug pentamidine. The antileishmanial activity of the essential oils of P. diospyrifolium and P. aduncum was described for the first time. P. rivinoides, P. cernuum, and P. diospyrifolium displayed moderate activity against the Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv bacillus, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 125 µg/mL. These results are relevant and suggests their potential for therapeutic purposes. Nevertheless, further studies are required to explain the exact mechanism of action of these essential oils.
Highlights
The Piperaceae family comprises around 3600 species [1], which are distributed in tropical and subtropical regions in the northern and southern hemispheres
The present study investigated the chemical composition and antileishmanial, cytotoxic, and anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis activities of essential oils obtained from the leaves of Piper species
A total of 68 components were identified from different species using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis
Summary
The Piperaceae family comprises around 3600 species [1], which are distributed in tropical and subtropical regions in the northern and southern hemispheres. Biological properties of essential oils and extracts from plants of the genus Piper, including antibacterial [6,7,8], trypanocidal [9,10], antileishmanial [11,12], anti-inflammatory [13], antifungal [14,15], anti-Mycobacterium [16,17] and antioxidant [18,19,20] activities have been described Considering these previously documented activities, the essential oil from Piper species shows potential for the development of new drugs for the treatment of neglected diseases such as leishmaniasis and tuberculosis, due to the resistance of the microorganisms involved. The major side effects of currently used drugs should be considered
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