Avaliação do efeito de extratos vegetais de plantas do cerrado e pantanal sobre o crescimento de trypanosoma cruzi

Abstract

Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi (Chagas, 1909) is considered a serious public health problem, because affect thousands of people by year. It is estimated that there are approximately five million people infected with T.cruzi in Brazil. The drugs used for the Chagas disease treatment are not very effective in acute and ineffective in the chronic phase of the disease as well as causes side effects and systemic toxicity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the biological activity of plants extracts obtained from plants of Mato Grosso do Sul State, including medicinal species from Cerrado-Pantanal on epimastigote forms of T.cruzi. The search was conducted by the colorimetric MTT method through the extracts of Aiouea trinervis (Lauraceae), Aniba heringerii (Lauraceae), Aspidosperma verbascifolium (Apocynaceae), Bowdichia virgilioides (Fabaceae), Centratherum punctatum (Asteraceae) Combretum lanceolatum (Combretaceae), Croton urucurana (Euphorbiaceae), Galianthe thalictroides (Rubiaceae) Guarea kunthiana (Meliaceae), Momordica charantia (Cucurbitaceae), Vernonia ferruginea (Asteraceae) and Vernonia rubricaulis (Asteraceae). The results of this study indicated that the most effective extract was that fruits of A. trinervis (IC50=10,22 μg/mL) followed by the ethanol extract of the leaves of V. ferruginea (IC50=34,32 μg/ mL) and ethanol extract of seeds the G. kunthiana (IC50=41,45 μg/mL). This study found that among the 15 crude extracts weighed against the epimastigote of T. cruzi Dm28c three extracts showed trypanocidal activity with IC50 of less than 50 μg/mL.