This work describes the antiparasitic and cytotoxic activities of three plant species from the Cerrado biome, Northeastern Brazil. Significant antiparasitic inhibition was observed against Trypanosoma cruzi (63.86%), Leishmania brasiliensis (92.20%) and Leishmania infantum (95.23%) when using ethanol extract from leaves of Guazuma ulmifolia Lam. (Malvaceae), at a concentration of 500 μg/mL. However, low levels of inhibition were observed when assessing leishmanicidal and trypanocidal (Clone CL-B5) activities of crude ethanol extracts from leaves and bast tissue of Luehea paniculata (Malvaceae) and leaves and bark of Prockia crucis (Salicaceae) at a concentration of 500 μg/mL. The extracts revealed the presence of phenolic acids such as gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid and rosmarinic acid, as well as flavonoids such as rutin, luteolin, apigenin and quercetin - the latter detected only in G. ulmifolia. G. ulmifolia extract displayed higher leishmanicidal activity probably due to the presence of quercetin, a potent known leishmanicidal compound. A cytotoxicity test indicated values over 50% at the highest concentration (1000 μg/mL) for all natural products, which were considered cytotoxic. This points out the need for further tests to enable future in vivo trials, including antineoplastic activity on human tumor cells.
RESUMOO aparecimento de micro-organismos resistentes e a toxicidade associada aos fármacos antimicrobianos aumentam a necessidade de pesquisas por novos princípios ativos. Morinda citrifolia L., uma planta frutífera utilizada popularmente como antibacteriano e com diversos outros usos farmacológicos. Possui diversos metabólitos primários e secundários, principalmente flavonóides, triterpenóides e alcalóides. O presente trabalho visou testar o potencial antimicrobiano e modulador dos extratos do seu fruto. Os extratos do fruto foram testados quanto ao seu efeito antimicrobiano e em combinação com antibacterianos e antifúngicos contra microrganismos patógenos pelo método de microdiluição em caldo. Observou-se que as associações entre antibióticos e extratos mostraram resultados com relevância clínica diante dos testes com bactérias Pseudomonas aeruginosa e Escherichia coli.Palavras-chave: efeito modulador, extratos, metabolitos secundários, multirresistente.
ABSTRACTThe rising of the drug resistant microrganisms and the toxicity related with the antimicrobial drugs enhances the necessity about the search of new bioactive compounds. Morinda citrifolia L. is a fruit tree traditionally used as antibacterial and with several other pharmacological properties. This plant presents several phytocompounds as flavonoids, alkaloids and triterpenes. The objective of this work was assay the antimicrobial and modulatory potential of the fruit extract. The extract was assayed alone and associated with antibiotics and antifungals against pathogenic microrganisms using the microdilution assay. The results demonstrated that the association between extract and antimicrobial drugs resulted in a potentiation of the drug activity clinically relevant against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli.
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