Abstract
Acanthamoeba, a genus that contains at least 24 species of free-living protozoa, is ubiquitous in nature. Successful treatment of Acanthamoeba infections is always very difficult and not always effective. More effective drugs must be developed, and medicinal plants may have a pivotal part in the future of drug discovery. Our research focused on investigating the in vitro anti- acanthamoebic potential of Leea indica and its constituent gallic acid in different concentrations. Water and butanol fractions exhibited significant amoebicidal activity against trophozoites and cysts. Gallic acid (100 µg/mL) revealed 83% inhibition of trophozoites and 69% inhibition of cysts. The butanol fraction induced apoptosis in trophozoites, which was observed using tunnel assay. The cytotoxicity of the fractions and gallic acid was investigated against MRC-5 and no adverse effects were observed. Gallic acid was successfully loaded within poly (D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles with 82.86% encapsulation efficiency, while gallic acid showed 98.24% in vitro release at 48 hours. Moreover, the gallic acid encapsulated in the PLGA nanoparticles exhibited 90% inhibition against trophozoites. In addition, gallic acid encapsulated nanoparticles showed reduced cytotoxicity towards MRC-5 compared to gallic acid, which evidenced that natural product nanoencapsulation in polymeric nanoparticles could play an important role in the delivery of natural products.
Highlights
Leea indica (Burm. f.) Merr. (Family-Leeaceae), commonly known as kur jiwa, arengi or achila gaeh, is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, for example, Malaysia, China, Thailand, India and Bangladesh[1]
The Leea indica butanol fraction exhibited 60% trophocidal activity at 1.0 mg/mL, with the maximum decrease in amoebicidal activity shown by ethyl acetate fraction of Leea indica (60% at 1.5 mg/mL) (Fig. 1)
gallic acid (GA)-PLGA nanoparticles showed significant trophocidal activity at 100 μg/mL after 48 and 72 hours, which was considered significant compared to standard chlorhexidine
Summary
Leea indica (Burm. f.) Merr. (Family-Leeaceae), commonly known as kur jiwa, arengi or achila gaeh, is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, for example, Malaysia, China, Thailand, India and Bangladesh[1]. Through LC-MS/MS, some phytochemicals have been www.nature.com/scientificreports identified in the leaves of Leea indica, such as phenols, flavonoids, benzoic acid derivatives, dihydrochalcones, coumarins, catechins, oxylipins and megastigmans[7]. Treatments against Acanthamoeba infections, including natural products and various chemotherapeutic agents, have been reported in in vitro studies for potential amoebicidal activity, but the results remain controversial. Nanotechnology is a branch of applied science and technology which deals with the development of devices and dosage forms in the range of 1 to 100 nm This new technology has emerged as a new approach to investigate new paths in which traditional methodologies have failed to impact the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of various diseases[30]. The current study was conducted against pathogenic Acanthamoeba as an effort to develop new, more effective therapeutic agents with less cytotoxicity
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
