Brazilian brown propolis elicits antileishmanial effect against promastigote and amastigote forms ofLeishmania amazonensis

Abstract

Propolis is a complex matrix of chemical constituents extracted from plants and produced by bees which is used in folk medicine due to its several pharmacological properties. Its chemical composition varies according to the region where it is produced. This work has studied the antileishmanial activity and cytotoxicity of brown propolis (BP) originating from the semi-arid region of Piauí, Brazil. The BP showed significant inhibition of the Leishmania amazonensis promastigotes growth as well as being effective in reducing infection of murine macrophages and the number of internalised amastigotes in these cells. The dichloromethane fraction was the most active and showed the best selectivity index. The studied samples presented good activity and the fractioning improved the antileishmanial activity without an increase in the cytotoxicity against mammalian cells. Therefore, BP is a potential source for development of apitherapeutic products for the treatment of leishmaniasis.

Phenolic Composition and Leishmanicidal Activity of Red Propolis and Dalbergia ecastaphyllum (L.) Taub (Fabaceae) Extracts from Sergipe, Brazil

“…The fact that the bees from hives located along the northeastern coast of Brazil visited D. ecastaphyllum to collect resin on the plant's surface to produce red propolis has been previously reported 12,28 . Although there is a wide range of studies related to the leishmanicidal activity of different types of propolis in different regions of Brazil and the world 20,23,[33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] , regarding red propolis, especially the red propolis from Sergipe, there is little information available. In this way, it was evaluated for the first time the effects of different concentrations of hydroethanolic extracts obtained from red propolis from Sergipe and of the inner bark of D. ecastaphyllum on the growth of promastigotes of L. amazonensis and L. chagasi.…”

Inhibitory effects of Zanthoxylum rhoifolium Lam. (Rutaceae) against the infection and infectivity of macrophages by Leishmania amazonensis

“…Interestingly, lupeol-rich extracts and fractions has demonstrated a marked antileishmanial effect and low cytotoxicity. A previous study reported that the hexanic fraction of Brazilian brown propolis possess lupeol-high content and a marked antileishmanial activity against promastigote and amastigote forms of L. amazonensis, as well as low cytotoxicity when compared with the ethanol extract (Santana et al 2014).…”

Antibacterial and leishmanicidal activity of Bolivian propolis

“…Santana et al . () reported antileishmanial activity of brown propolis from the semi‐arid region of Brazil. This propolis showed growth inhibition of L. amazonensis promastigotes with IC 50 values ranging from 4·96 to 36·95 μ g ml −1 , depending on the extraction solvent of the samples.…”

“…Its botanical source was the Asteraceae Baccharis dracunculifolia, and the chemical composition includes phenolic compounds, diterpenes, triterpenes and essential oils (da Silva et al 2013). Santana et al (2014) reported antileishmanial activity of brown propolis from the semi-arid region of Brazil. This propolis showed growth inhibition of L. amazonensis promastigotes with IC 50 values ranging from 4Á96 to 36Á95 lg ml À1 , depending on the extraction solvent of the samples.…”

“…There are reports on the leishmanicidal effect of propolis from Turkey on L. tropica (Duran et al 2008) and samples from Portugal on L. infantum (Falcão et al 2014). Propolis from Brazil has been investigated for antileishmanial effect against Leishmania brasiliensis (Pontin et al 2008;da Silva et al 2013) and L. amazonensis (Santana et al 2014).…”