Avaliação da Atividade Antileishmania de Extratos de Frutos Secos Nativos do Mato Grosso do Sul

Abstract

Leishmaniasis, according to the World Health Organization, is one of the most neglected tropical diseases and being endemic in Brazil. Caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania spp. The main clinical forms are tegumentary (LT) and visceral (LV), mainly caused by the species Leishmania amazonensis, L. braziliensis and L. infantum. Currently, the drugs used to treatment of this disease have caused several inconveniences in terms of safety, toxicity, administration, resistance and cost. Therefore, the development of new therapeutic strategies for treatment has become a high priority. The use of extracts from natural products has been extensively studied in Leishmania species and the antileishamia activity of some species has been well documented, proving to be good alternatives for effective treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antileishmanial activity of extracts from the dried fruits of the following plant species: Cariniana legalis (Lecythidaceae), Qualea grandiflora Mart. (Vochysiaceae), Cedrela fissilis (Meliaceae), Aspidosperma tomentosum (Apocynaceae) and Microlobius foetidus (Fabaceae).Colorimetric viability assays were performed with promastigote forms of Leishmania amazonensis and NIH/3T3 fibroblasts to evaluate antileishmanial activity and selectivity. Among the extracts analyzed, the extracts from A. tomentosum and C. fissilis presented the highest selectivity index among the extracts tested (6.6 and 1.2, respectively). This selectivity index was below that proposed in the literature for natural compounds, however, it indicates the presence of active antileishmania compounds among the extracts tested, which may lead to new perspectives for studies in relation to the chemical composition and biological activities of these species.