Abstract
BackgroundPlants used for traditional medicine produce diverse and complex secondary metabolites exhibiting various medicinal properties. The medicinal plant Haplophyllum tuberculatum is used by native people against malaria and parasitic infections.MethodsIn this study and in order to contribute for the search of new natural drugs for leishmaniasis, the essential oils of H. tuberculatum leaves, stems and aerial parts (leaves+stems) collected in two different periods, 2013 and 2015, and their components by GC/FID and GC/MS analyses were investigated. Those collected in 2013 were also re-analyzed two years later. The extracted oils were screened in vitro for anti-leishmanial activity on Leishmania mexicana mexicana (L.m.m.) promastigotes and cytotoxicity on the Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell line. Limonene (1.5 – 8%), its isomers (R- (+)-limonene and S-(-)-limonene), linalool and octanol were also tested.ResultsResults showed that the chemical composition varied according to the year of collection. Though major compounds remain almost the same, qualitative and quantitative variations in the composition of the EOs can be observed between the two years of collection, with some minor compounds identified only in one type of samples. Variation in the composition were also observed in the re-analyzed volatile oils, showing stability concerns. The essential oils and R-(+)-limonene showed moderate anti-leishmanial activity. Their IC50 range from 6.48 to 50.28 μg/ml. Cytotoxicity assays for theses volatile extracts, R- (+)-limonene and S- (-)-limonene on CHO cells showed relatively potent cytotoxicity with a selectivity index <10. Their CC50 range from 27.79 to 82.56 μg/ml.ConclusionsThe findings of the present study demonstrated that H. tuberculatum might not be considered as a natural source for production of new anti-leishmanial agents without further analyzing its eventual in vivo toxicity as well as that of major pure compounds.
Highlights
Plants used for traditional medicine produce diverse and complex secondary metabolites exhibiting various medicinal properties
The main aim of the present study is to analyze the volatile oils of different H. tuberculatum parts collected during two different seasons, to evaluate their antileishmanial effects against L. mexicana mexicana promastigote forms and their cytotoxic activities against Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells in an in vitro model
Chemical profiles of the oils The comparison of the data obtained for the same essential oil (EO) obtained from H. tuberculatum analyzed in 2014 and re-analyzed in 2016 showed qualitative and quantitative variations
Summary
Plants used for traditional medicine produce diverse and complex secondary metabolites exhibiting various medicinal properties. More than 20 Leishmania species have about 70 natural reservoir hosts and vectors including animals, such as dogs or rodents, and human bodies, and are transmitted by more than 90 sand fly species. These diseases are considered as a serious health concern which are occurring in Africa, Asia, Southern Europe and Latin America. Their prevalence rate was estimated from 900 000 to 1.3 million new cases and from 20 000 to 30 000 deaths annually. The required long-term treatment, toxicity, grave side-effects, pain, cost, drug resistance associated with treatment failures point out the crucial need for new agents in the treatment of leishmaniasis [4, 6]
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