title: Leishmanicidal activity of the crude extract, fractions and major piperidine alkaloids from the flowers of Senna spectabilis.
abstract: Senna spectabilis (sin. Cassia excelsa, C. spectabilis) is an endemic tree of South America and Africa, very common in Brazil, where it is known as "canafistula-de-besouro" and "cassia-do-nordeste". In folk medicine, this plant is indicated for the treatment of constipation, insomnia, anxiety, epilepsy, malaria, dysentery and headache. Phytopharmacological studies have also confirmed anticonvulsive, sedative, anti-malarial, antimicrobial and cytotoxic properties of many parts of S. spectabilis. In this communication, we present a comparative study of the leishmanicidal activity of the crude ethanolic extract, its fractions and also the two major alkaloidal metabolites (-)-cassine/(-)-spectaline, trying to establish a relationship between the presence of piperidine alkaloidal constituents and leishmanicidal activity. The growth inhibitory effect of promastigote forms of Leishmania major was determined for the crude extract, fractions of the flowers of S. spectabilis and a mixture of (-)-cassine/(-)-spectaline in comparison to pentamidine used as standard drug. The cytotoxic effects were assessed on macrophage strain J774 by lactate dehydrogenase assay. Fractions dichloromethane (FL-DCM) and n-butanol (FL-Bu) and a mixture of (-)-cassine/(-)-spectaline (∼7:3) exhibited significant activity against the parasite Leishmania major (IC50 values of 0.6±0.1 μg/ml, 1.6±0.9 μg/ml and 24.9±1.4 μg/ml, respectively), without toxic effects on murine macrophages. Due to the promising results elicited, further studies in vivo need to be performed to confirm the therapeutic potential of Senna spectabilis.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Farmacologia e Imunidade, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Alagoas, 57020-720 Maceió, AL, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gabriela Muniz
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: de Albuquerque Melo
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Fitoquímica e Química Medicinal (LFQM), Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal de Alfenas, 37130-000 Alfenas, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcela Campelo Rodrigues
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Fitoquímica e Química Medicinal (LFQM), Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal de Alfenas, 37130-000 Alfenas, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Thaís Pereira
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Guimarães
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Fitoquímica e Química Medicinal (LFQM), Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal de Alfenas, 37130-000 Alfenas, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Kátia Mantovani
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Pinheiro
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Farmacologia e Imunidade, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Alagoas, 57020-720 Maceió, AL, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carolina Barbosa Brito
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: da Matta
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Farmacologia e Imunidade, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Alagoas, 57020-720 Maceió, AL, Brazil.
authors.forename: Aline Cavalcanti
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: de Queiroz
authors.affiliation: Núcleo de Bioensaios, Biossíntese e Ecofisiologia de Produtos Naturais (NuBBE), Instituto de Química, Universidade Estadual Paulista, 14801-970 Araraquara, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pivatto
authors.affiliation: Núcleo de Bioensaios, Biossíntese e Ecofisiologia de Produtos Naturais (NuBBE), Instituto de Química, Universidade Estadual Paulista, 14801-970 Araraquara, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Vanderlan da Silva
authors.initials: Vda S
authors.lastname: Bolzani
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Farmacologia e Imunidade, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Alagoas, 57020-720 Maceió, AL, Brazil. Electronic address: suzana.magna@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Magna Suzana
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Alexandre-Moreira
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Fitoquímica e Química Medicinal (LFQM), Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal de Alfenas, 37130-000 Alfenas, MG, Brazil. Electronic address: cvjviegas@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Viegas
mesh_terms: D000977:Antiparasitic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D035264:Flowers / Q000737:chemistry; D007659:Ketones / Q000494:pharmacology; D018320:Leishmania major / Q000187:drug effects*; D007896:Leishmaniasis / Q000469:parasitology*; D008018:Life Cycle Stages; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D010419:Pentamidine / Q000494:pharmacology; D010880:Piperidines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D029846:Senna Plant / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000977:Antiparasitic Agents; D007659:Ketones; D010880:Piperidines; D010936:Plant Extracts; C480880:spectaline; C426663:cassine; D010419:Pentamidine
keywords: Antiprotozoal activity; Cassia spectabilis; Leishmanicidal activity; Piperidine alkaloids; Senna spectabilis