Regina Celia Bressan Queiroz de Figueiredo
Aggeu Magalhães Research Institute/FIOCRUZ, Brazil
Title: The prospection of essential oils as chemotherapeutic agents against Trypanosomatid parasites
Biography
Biography: Regina Celia Bressan Queiroz de Figueiredo
Abstract
The essential oils from aromatic plants commonly used in traditional medicine, have been proven to be promissory against pathogenic microorganisms. In the last years we have investigated the activity of essential oils (EOs) from medicinal plants of Northeast of Brazil against the protozoa Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania sp., the causative agents of Chagas disease and Leishmaniasis, respectively. The EOs were obtained by hydrodistillation and characterized by GC-MS. The EOs from Lippia sidoides Cham, Ocimmum gratissimum were evaluated for both trypanocidal and leishmanicidal activities, whereas Lippia origanoides, Chenopodium abromsioides, Justicia pectorales and Vitex agnus-castus were tested only against Trypanosoma cruzi. Cymbopogon citratus (DC) Stapf. and Ocimum gratissimum were evaluated against Leishmania chagasi. The most prevalent chemical constituents of these essential oils were monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes. All essential oils tested demonstrated an inhibitory effect on parasites growth and survival with no significant cytotoxic effects in mammalian cells. The most effective EOs were investigated for their mechanism of action. Although the severity of treatments on parasite morphology and physiology was dependent on the EOs used, drastic morphological and physiological changes could be observed in all EO-treated parasites. Taken together, our results point towards the use of these essential oils as potential chemotherapeutic agent against Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania.