title: Antifungal activities of compounds isolated from Piper abutiloides Kunth.
abstract: Piperaceae is a family of tropical plants known to have antifungal, antibacterial, tumour-inhibitory, antiviral, antioxidant, molluscicidal and leishmanicidal activities. In this work, extracts and fractions from aerial parts of Piper abutiloides (Piperaceae), a traditional medicinal plant, were evaluated against the fungal species Candida albicans, C. parapsilosis, C. krusei, C. glabrata, C. tropicalis, Cryptococcus neoformans and Sporothrix schenckii. The results have shown that the antifungal activity of this plant can be concentrated in the hexanic fraction after partitioning its hydroalcoholic extract between hexane and 90% aqueous methanol. The chromatographic fractionation of the bioactive part was monitored with a bioautographic assay using C. glabrata, and allowed the isolation of three antifungal compounds: pseudodillapiol, eupomatenoid-6 and conocarpan. These compounds presented different potencies against the fungi tested, with the strongest effect being observed for eupomatenoid-6 against C. glabrata, which presented a minimal inhibitory concentration value of 0.3 microg spot(-1). Conocarpan showed antifungal activity without apparent cytotoxic effect on normal human lymphocytes, as assessed by the proliferation assay with human peripheral blood mononuclear cells stimulated with phytohaemaglutinin. This work reveals for the first time the occurrence of these compounds in P. abutiloides and justifies further studies to clarify their mechanisms of action.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte-MG, Brazil. sjohann@cpqrr.fiocruz.br
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Johann
authors.forename: B B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Cota
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Souza-Fagundes
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Pizzolatti
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Resende
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Zani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000633:toxicity; D001572:Benzofurans / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000633:toxicity; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000187:drug effects*; D005591:Chemical Fractionation / Q000379:methods; D002845:Chromatography / Q000379:methods; D003455:Cryptococcus neoformans / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010636:Phenols / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000633:toxicity; D031701:Piper / Q000737:chemistry*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000633:toxicity; D013175:Sporothrix / Q000187:drug effects*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D001572:Benzofurans; D010636:Phenols; D010936:Plant Extracts; C447284:conocarpan; C452812:eupomatenoid 6