title: Croton cajucara crude extract and isolated terpenes: activity on Trypanosoma cruzi.
abstract: Croton cajucara is a plant found in the Amazon region and is known for its medicinal properties. The effects of the methanolic extract of the stem bark of C. cajucara (MCC) and of the isolated terpenes, trans-dehydrocrotonin (t-DCTN) and acetyl aleuritolic acid (AAA), were investigated using four isolates of Trypanosoma cruzi. In assays with trypomastigotes, the extract was more active than the isolated compounds, presenting IC(50) in the range of 10 to 50 μg/mL. The trypanocidal effect of MCC, AAA and benznidazole was significantly higher in the GLT291 and C45 strains, which were recently isolated from wild animals. MCC and AAA caused a dose-dependent inhibition of epimastigote proliferation. In assays using intracellular amastigotes, AAA and MCC reduced the percent of infection and the endocytic index after 96 h of treatment, at concentrations that were non-toxic to the host cells. MCC inhibited the trypanothione reductase pathway in both epimastigotes and trypomastigotes of all the subpopulations. The absence of AAA activity on the trypanothione reductase pathway in epimastigotes of Dm28c suggests heterogeneity of the biochemical profile between this clone and the three strains. Epimastigotes and trypomastigotes (GLT291) were treated for 24 h with MCC or AAA, and both induced alterations of the plasma membrane, while AAA-treated epimastigotes also displayed mitochondrial damage.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Biologia de Tripanosomatídeos, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Av. Brasil 4365, Manguinhos, 21045-900 Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Monica C O
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Campos
authors.forename: Kelly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Salomão
authors.forename: Denise B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Castro-Pinto
authors.forename: Leonor L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Leon
authors.forename: Helene S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Barbosa
authors.forename: Maria Aparecida M
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Maciel
authors.forename: Solange L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: de Castro
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D045424:Complex Mixtures / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D029802:Croton / Q000737:chemistry*; D045785:Diterpenes, Clerodane / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D020128:Inhibitory Concentration 50; D017737:Macrophages, Peritoneal / Q000469:parasitology; D051379:Mice; D021261:Parasitic Sensitivity Tests; D024301:Plant Bark / Q000737:chemistry; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018547:Plant Stems / Q000737:chemistry; D014315:Triterpenes / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents; D045424:Complex Mixtures; D045785:Diterpenes, Clerodane; D010936:Plant Extracts; D014315:Triterpenes; C103060:dehydrocrotonin; C014947:acetylaleuritolic acid