Avaliação in vitro da atividade leishmanicida de Allium sativum, Curcuma longa, Zingiber officinale e Glycine max

Abstract

Endemic in 102 countries, leishmaniasis is a neglected disease caused by flagellated parasites of the genus Leishmania. Although epidemiological importance, the therapy against this disease is limited and has high toxicity and unwanted adverse effects. In this context, the search for new leishmanicidal drugs is essential. The aim of this study was to evaluate the leishmanicidal effect of aqueous solutions of Allium sativum (garlic), Curcuma longa (turmeric), Zingiber officinale (ginger) and Glycine max (soybean) plants, which are part of the National List of Medicinal Plants of Interest to the Unified Health System (RENISUS), with the aim of to discover new accessible therapeutic options. Initially, the cytotoxicity of aqueous extractive solutions on J774.A1 lineage macrophages was investigated by means of the MTT(3-[4,5- dimethyl-thiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) colorimetric assay. Afterwards, macrophages infected with promastigotes of Leishmania spp. species were treated with aqueous extractive solutions from the plants. Then, the levels of nitric oxide produced by infected macrophages were analyzed. It was observed that none of the plants showed cytotoxic effect up to the maximum concentration tested (100 µg/mL). Furthermore, plant species did not show leishmanicidal activity against Leishmania amazonensis and Leishmania chagasi amastigotes. Zingiber officinale induced the increase in nitric oxide. Thus, it should be noted that studies with medicinal plants in the form of popular use (tea) is necessary due to easy administration. Furthermore, further studies must be carried out to understand the pharmacological mechanisms of these plants.