Casearia sylvestris (Flacourtiaceae) is a plant popularly known as "guaçatonga" and it is used by indigenous population from South America (Brazil, Peru and Bolivia) in the treatment of several diseases, including cancer. Cytotoxic studies showed that it presents an interesting antitumoral potential due to the presence of casearins and the essential oil showed a high percentage of potent cytotoxic sesquiterpenes (β-caryophyllene and α-humulene). In this work, we verified that the essential oil of C. sylvestris presents a good selective cytotoxicity against HeLa, A-549 and HT-29 tumor cells (CD 50 63.3, 60.7 and 90.6 µg.ml ). The oil causes hemolysis in seven different kinds of erythrocytes, indicating that C. sylvestris must be used carefully. Besides, standard of β-caryophyllene and α-humulene were also tested and they showed similar cytotoxicity to the cytotoxicity presented in the oil, indicating that they might be responsible for the toxic effects that were observed in this study.KEYWORDS: Cytotoxicity, Casearia sylvestris, Erythrocytes, Essential oil, MTT, Sesquiterpenes. Avaliação citotóxica do óleo essencial de Casearia sylvestris Sw sobre células tumorais humanas e eritrócitos RESUMOA Casearia sylvestris (Flacourtiaceae) é uma planta popularmente conhecida como "guaçatonga" e é usada por povos indígenas da América do sul (Brasil, Peru e Bolivia) no tratamento de muitas doenças, incluindo câncer. Estudos citotóxicos mostraram que esta planta apresenta um possível e interessante potencial antitumoral devido à presença de moléculas chamadas casearinas. Além disso, a composição do óleo essencial mostrou uma alta concentração de sesquiterpenos de alto potencial citotóxico. Neste trabalho, nós verificamos que o óleo essencial da C. sylvestris apresentou uma boa citotoxicidade seletiva contra as linhagens de células tumorais HeLa, A-549 and HT-29 (CD 50 63,3, 60,7 e 90,6 µg.ml ). Além disso, o óleo causou hemólise em sete diferentes tipos de eritrócitos, indicando que a C. sylvestris precisa ser usada com cuidado. Também foram testados padrões de β-cariofileno e α-humuleno que mostraram citotoxicidade similar àquelas apresentadas pelo óleo, indicando que estes compostos podem ser os responsáveis pelos efeitos tóxicos que foram observados neste estudo.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Casearia sylvestris Sw., also known as "guaçatonga," is a medicinal plant with broad use in South America. Among the popular applications attributed to this plant are antiinflammatory, anticancer, antimicrobial, and antiulcer activities. Despite the broad popular use of this plant as a phytopharmaceutical agent, there are few studies about the antimicrobial potential of guaçatonga. In this work, we have studied the antimicrobial potential of an ethanol extract obtained from C. sylvestris leaves against three yeasts, two filamentous fungus, six Gram-negative bacteria, and two Gram-positive bacteria. Through two chromatographic steps using a Sephadex LH-20 column and RP-HPLC, we isolated and characterized two derived compounds of gallic acid: isobutyl gallate-3,5-dimethyl ether (IGDE) and methyl gallate-3,5-dimethyl ether (MGDE). Both compounds showed antimicrobial activity. IGDE was much more efficient than MGDE in inhibiting yeasts (Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, and Candida guilliermondii) and Gram-positive bacteria (Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus). This fact is probably associated with the higher hydrophobicity degree of IDGE compared with MGDE.