Anti-leishmanial effects of purified compounds from aerial parts of Baccharis uncinella C. DC. (Asteraceae)

Abstract

Species of Baccharis exhibit antibiotic, antiseptic, wound-healing, and anti-protozoal properties, and have been used in the traditional medicine of South America for the treatment of several diseases. In the present work, the fractionation of EtOH extract from aerial parts of Baccharis uncinella indicated that the isolated compounds caffeic acid and pectolinaringenin showed inhibitory activity against Leishmania (L.) amazonensis and Leishmania (V.) braziliensis promastigotes, respectively. Moreover, amastigote forms of both species were highly sensible to the fraction composed by oleanolic + ursolic acids and pectolinaringenin. Caffeic acid also inhibited amastigote forms of L. (L.) amazonensis, but this effect was weak in L. (V.) braziliensis amastigotes. The treatment of infected macrophages with these compounds did not alter the levels of nitrates, indicating a direct effect of the compounds on amastigote stages. The results presented herein suggest that the active components from B. uncinella can be important to the design of new drugs against American tegumentar leishmaniases.

Therapeutic effect of ursolic acid in experimental visceral leishmaniasis

“…Although the leishmanicidal action of UA ( in vitro ) was already evaluated (Passero et al., 2011, Yamamoto et al., 2015), its action in experimental models of leishmaniasis was poorly demonstrated until now. In this regard, Yamamoto and collaborators (Yamamoto et al., 2014) showed that UA treatment of L. (L.) amazonensis- infected BALB/c mice decreased skin parasitism, which was associated with the preservation of the epidermis and dermis as a possible consequence of IFN-γ production.…”

“…(Gnoatto et al., 2008, Bero et al., 2011, Begum et al., 2014). Recently, it was demonstrated that ursolic acid (UA) displayed activity against promastigote and amastigote forms of L. (L.) amazonensis , L. (V.) braziliensis , L. (L.) chagasi , and L. (L.) major (Passero et al., 2011, Begum et al., 2014, Yamamoto et al., 2014, Yamamoto et al., 2015), suggesting that UA presents multispectral action. In spite of that, few works have performed in vivo studies in order to evaluate the therapeutic potential of this triterpene and, more importantly, up to now there has not been any report analyzing the therapeutic action of this compound on VL, one of the most important medical conditions caused by Leishmania parasites.…”

Anti-leishmanial and anti-trypanosomal potential of polygodial isolated from stem barks of Drimys brasiliensis Miers (Winteraceae)

“…Low efficacy, long courses of treatment, parenteral routes of administration, or a combination of these problems demonstrate the urgent need for novel and alternative treatments (Lindoso and Lindoso 2009). Therefore, in the course of our studies with pharmacologically active from plants of Brazilian highland regions (Grecco et al 2010;Lago et al 2010;Passero et al 2010), we report here the evaluation of anti-leishmanial and anti-trypanosomal activities of hexane extract from stem barks of D. brasiliensis as well as its main isolated constituent, the sesquiterpene polygodial.…”

Antileishmanial effects of the alkaloid-rich fraction of Quassia amara L.

“…The infection assays were performed following the protocol previously described by Passero et al (2010) with slight modifications. Briefly, peritoneal macrophages (1.0 × 10 6 cells/ml) were distributed in 96-well microplates.…”