Antitrypanosomal and Antileishmanial Activity of Chalcones and Flavanones from Polygonum salicifolium

Abstract

Trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis are a group of neglected parasitic diseases caused by several species of parasites belonging to the family Trypansomatida. The present study investigated the antitrypanosomal and antileishmanial activity of chalcones and flavanones from Polygonum salicifolium, which grows in the wetlands of Iraq. The phytochemical evaluation of the plant yielded two chalcones, 2′,4′-dimethoxy-6′-hydroxychalcone and 2′,5′-dimethoxy-4′,6′-dihydroxychalcone, and two flavanones, 5,7-dimethoxyflavanone and 5,8-dimethoxy-7-hydroxyflavanone. The chalcones showed a good antitrypanosomal and antileishmanial activity while the flavanones were inactive. The EC50 values for 2′,4′-dimethoxy-6′-hydroxychalcone against Trypanosoma brucei brucei (0.5 μg/mL), T. congolense (2.5 μg/mL), and Leishmania mexicana (5.2 μg/mL) indicated it was the most active of the compounds. None of the compounds displayed any toxicity against a human cell line, even at 100 µg/mL, or cross-resistance with first line clinical trypanocides, such as diamidines and melaminophenyl arsenicals. Taken together, our study provides significant data in relation to the activity of chalcones and flavanones from P. salicifolium against both parasites in vitro. Further future research is suggested in order to investigate the mode of action of the extracted chalcones against the parasites.

Quantum mechanical, molecular docking, molecular dynamics, ADMET and antiproliferative activity onTrypanosoma cruzi(Y strain) of chalcone (E)-1-(2-hydroxy-3,4,6-trimethoxyphenyl)-3-(3-nitrophenyl)prop-2-en-1-one derived from a natural product

“…58 Chalcones and flavones from Polygonum salicifolium exhibited an important anti-kinetoplastid effect in vitro against T. b. brucei , T. congolense and L. mexicana . 13 Trans-chalcone was able to modulate the infection and inflammation caused by Leishmania amazonesis in an in vitro model. 59 Because of their structural and metabolic similarity, many leishmanicidal substances present a considerable effect on T cruzi.…”

“…Cell death events in T. cruzi induced by CPN 3 NO 2 were evaluated using 7-aminoactinomycin D (7-AAD) and annexin V (AX) conjugated with phycoerythrin. 7-AAD binds to the DNA in cells that lost its membrane integrity, while AX binds to phosphatidylserine, a membrane phospholipid that is externalized during the programmed cell death pathway 12,13 [1, 2]. For this, 10 6 epimastigote mL −1 were incubated in 24-well plates with CPN 3 NO 2 (62.5; 125 and 250 μM) for 24 hours in a BOD incubator.…”

“…Computational calculations at the DFT level were performed using the software Gaussian 09. 17 For the geometric optimization and the scans of the structures, the B3LYP method 13,14 combined with the 6-311++G(d,p) basis set was used. All structures were checked for the absence of negative frequencies.…”

“…12 The phytochemical evaluation of the Polygonum salicifolium yielded two chalcones that showed good anti-titrypanosomal activity. 13 New prenylated synthetic chalcones have shown an effect on the viability of T. cruzi parasites. 14…”

Translational Research of Zoonotic Parasites: Toward Improved Tools for Diagnosis, Treatment and Control

“…Gulas-Wroblewski et al [9] developed cost-effective DNA storage and DNA extraction methods for the molecular detection of Trypanosoma cruzi in field-based investigations. Furthermore, Zheoat et al [10] discovered that 2 ,4 -dimethoxy-6 -hydroxychalcone from a plant extract of Polygonum salicifolium had anti-leishmanial and anti-trypanosomal effects in the absence of toxicity against a human cell line, suggesting its potential use against Leishmania mexicana, Trypanosoma brucei and T. congolense.…”