Croton campestris A. St.-Hill Methanolic Fraction in a Chlorpyrifos-Induced Toxicity Model in Drosophila melanogaster: Protective Role of Gallic Acid

Abstract

Croton campestris A. St-Hill popularly known as “velame do campo” is a native species of the savannah from northeastern Brazil, being used in folk medicine due to its beneficial effects in the treatment of many diseases, inflammation, detoxification, gastritis, and syphilis; however, its potential use as an antidote against organophosphorus compound poisoning has not yet been shown. Here, the protective effect of the methanolic fraction of C. campestris A. St.-Hill (MFCC) in Drosophila melanogaster exposed to chlorpyrifos (CP) was investigated. Flies were exposed to CP and MFCC during 48 h through the diet. Following the treatments, parameters such as mortality, locomotor behavior, and oxidative stress markers were evaluated. Exposure of flies to CP induced significant impairments in survival and locomotor performance. In parallel, increased reactive oxygen species and lipoperoxidation occurred. In addition, the activity of acetylcholinesterase was inhibited by CP, and superoxide dismutase and glutathione S-transferase activity was induced. Treatment with MFCC resulted in a blockage of all CP-induced effects, with the exception of glutathione S-transferase. Among the major compounds found in MFCC, only gallic acid (GA) showed a protective role against CP while quercetin and caffeic acid alone were ineffective. When in combination, these compounds avoided the toxicity of CP at the same level as GA. As far as we know, this is the first study reporting the protective effect of MFCC against organophosphate toxicity in vivo and highlights the biotechnological potential of this fraction attributing a major role in mediating the observed effects to GA. Therefore, MFCC may be considered a promising source for the development of new therapeutic agents for the treatment of organophosphate intoxications.

Evaluation of ellagic acid and gallic acid as efflux pump inhibitors in strains of Staphylococcus aureus

“…Previous studies have described neuroprotective effects of gallic acid in different models of neurodegeneration, neurotoxicity and oxidative stress in a model of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease using D. melanogaster ( Jimenez-Del-Rio et al, 2010 ; Ogunsuyi et al, 2019 ). This phenolic acid also demonstrated a protective effect on D. melanogaster exposed to the organophosphate chlorpyrifos, which inhibits acetylcholinesterase, the main mechanism of action of this insecticide ( Gomes et al, 2020 ). The results obtained by Nagpal and Abraham (2017) suggest that gallic acid has antioxidant and antimutagenic properties in D. melanogaster exposed to urethane-induced genotoxicity and oxidative stress.…”

Research Article Chlorpyrifos-induced dopaminergic damage in <i>Drosophila</i> <i>melanogaster</i> assessed by gene expression, AChE assay, and negative geotaxis using a new feeding device

“…The inhibition of AChE results in the accumulation of acetylcholine in the synaptic cleft, causing hyperexcitation at the central nervous system and disturbance of normal physiological functioning. Further mechanism of CPF toxicity was reported to be due to the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) leading to an oxidative stress condition (Gupta et al, 2010;Rodrigues et al, 2019;Gomes et al, 2020). Chlorpyrifos has been shown to alter motor activity and to cause DA neurons damage in the midbrain substantia nigra (Zhang et al, 2011).…”

“…Chlorpyrifos has been shown to alter motor activity and to cause DA neurons damage in the midbrain substantia nigra (Zhang et al, 2011). Although CPF has been shown to induce significant locomotor deficits in D. melanogaster, nevertheless, this defect was linked to the AChE inhibition activity and oxidative stress that can be caused during organophosphates poisoning (Rodrigues et al, 2019;Gomes et al, 2020).…”

In Silico Studies of Lamiaceae Diterpenes with Bioinsecticide Potential against Aphis gossypii and Drosophila melanogaster

“…Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition is the main mechanism of action of organophosphates [ 71 , 72 , 73 ]. The enzyme is essential and necessary for hydrolysis of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh), and plays a fundamental role in controlling synaptic transmission in all animals; hydrolyzing acetylcholine to end its synaptic action [ 74 , 75 , 76 ].…”

“…In another study Gomes and collaborators (2020) [ 75 ], evaluated the insecticidal action of Croton campestris methanolic extract, and the protective effect of gallic acid. The methodology used consisted of quantification of compounds by HPLC, enzymatic and locomotion assay, and evaluation of enzyme expression (acetylcholinesterase).…”