The in vivo trypanocidal effect of the diterpene 5-epi-icetexone obtained from Salvia gilliesii

LOZANO E; CIFUENTES D; SOSA MA; STRAUSS M; TONN C; SPINA R; RIVAROLA W

PARASITOLOGY INTERNATIONAL

ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2016 vol. 65 p. 23 - 26

1383-5769

The search for new compounds with trypanocidal activity is crucial for the treatment of Chagas´ disease. Previousin vitro studies have shown that the diterpene 5-epi-icetexone (ICTX) is active against Trypanosoma cruzi. The aimof this work was to evaluate the effect of ICTX on the parasites in infected mice, in an experimental model thatmimics the acute phase of the disease. Swiss albino mice were infected with T. cruzi and treated daily with10 mg/kg/day ICTX (i.p.). Infected mice and mice injected with either saline or the vehicle DMSO were used ascontrols. Animals´ survival and parasitemia were monitored once a week and histological studies were made atnecropsy by the 5th week after infection. It was observed that the administration of ICTX increased the survivalof mice infected, and induced a significant decrease in the parasitemia, as compared to controls. A similar protective effect was observed when animals were treated orally with benznidazole (BZN, used as a control of antiparasitic effect). By the 5th week post-infection, the presence of amastigote nests was observed within the fibers of the cardiac and skeletalmuscle in controls, but not in animals treatedwith either ICTX or BZN. In addition, inflammatory infiltrateswere observed in the tissues of controls, but not in animals treatedwith the drugs.Weconcludethat ICTX has an antiparasitic effect against T. cruzi, thus constituting an interesting option for the treatment of Chagas´ disease, alone or combined with other drugs.