Effect of Brazilian copaiba oils on Leishmania amazonensis.
BACKGROUND
Copaiba oil has been used in folk medicine since the 19th century. The use of copaiba oils to treat leishmaniasis is cited in several ethnopharmacological studies. Nevertheless, the potential antileishmania of copaiba oils had not been studied.


OBJECTIVE
Eight different kinds of Brazilian copaiba oils were screened for antileishmanial activity.


METHODS
The antiproliferative effect of copaiba oil on promastigote and amastigote axenic were determined. To determine the survival index peritoneal macrophage were infected with promastigotes of Leishmania amazonensis and treated with copaiba oil. The cytotoxic effect of copaiba oil was assessed on macrophage strain J774G8 by assay of sulforhodamine B.


RESULTS
Copaiba oils showed variable levels of activity against promastigote forms with IC(50) values in the range between 5 and 22microg/mL. The most active oil was that from Copaifera reticulata (collected in Pará State, Brazil) with IC(50) values of 5, 15, and 20microg/mL for promastigote, axenic amastigote and intracellular amastigote forms, respectively. Amphotericin B showed IC(50) of 0.058 and 0.231microg/mL against promastigote and amastigote forms, respectively. Cytotoxicity assay showed that this copaiba oil obtained from Copaifera reticulata showed low cytotoxicity against J774G8 macrophages.


CONCLUSIONS
Copaiba oils showed significant activity against the parasite Leishmania amazonensis.
Santos
Adriana O
AO
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Microbiologia, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Rodovia Celso Garcia Cid s/n, 86051-990 Londrina-PR, Brazil.
Ueda-Nakamura
Tânia
T
Dias Filho
Benedito P
BP
Veiga Junior
Valdir F
VF
Pinto
Angelo C
AC
Nakamura
Celso Vataru
CV
D000666:Amphotericin B / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001938:Brazil; D007887:Fabaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D020128:Inhibitory Concentration 50; D007891:Leishmania / Q000187:drug effects*; D008264:Macrophages / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000469:parasitology; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018675:Toxicity Tests
D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents; D010938:Plant Oils; D000666:Amphotericin B