AVALIAÇÃO DA ATIVIDADE ANTI-LEISHMANIA DE EXTRATOS DE ESPÉCIES DE PLANTAS NATIVAS DO MATO GROSSO DO SUL

Abstract

Leishmaniasis are diseases caused by protozoans of the Leishmania genus, considered by the WHO as neglected tropical diseases, responsible for about 30,000 deaths per year, being endemic in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. The available treatments make adherence difficult due to the high cost, parenteral administration and several collateral effects. Considering the vast biodiversity and ethnopharmacological surveys in our country, the search for safer and more effective treatments with natural products is challenging and necessary. Thus, we evaluated in vitro activity of Rudgea viburnoides, Diodia kuntzei, Richardia grandiflora, Tocoyena formosa, Randia armata and Coutarea hexandra plant extracts of the Rubiaceae family against Leishmania amazonensis. We observed a reduction in cell viability of promastigotes forms of L. amazonensis and a reduction in intracellular amastigotes in infected macrophages, and the selectivity indices were calculated in which Tocoyena formosa, Rudgea viburnoides and Randia armata extracts presented values of 6.7, 3.2, and 2.7, respectively. In order to investigate some mechanism involved in the anti-Leishmania activity, the production of nitric oxide by infected macrophages was evaluated using the Griess reaction. The realization of phytochemical studies and the fractionation of extracts will be essential to track the antileishmanial activity of these extracts. Keywords: Rubiaceae; Rudgea viburnoides; Diodia kuntzei; Tocoyena formosa; Leishmania amazonensis