CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

ABIETANE OBTAINED FROM SALVIA CUSPIDATA IS ACTIVE AGAINST T.CRUZI. R Spina2,*, E Lozano2,*, MA Sosa2, C Tonn1 and D Cifuentes1,*. (1) INTEQUI-CONICET, UNSL; (2) IHEM-CONICET, UNCuyo. (*) Equal contribution. T.cruzi is a monoflagellate parasite, responsible for the Chagas` disease, that affects millions of people in Latinamerica. Since decades, many natural and synthetic compounds have been tested, but only Benznidazole and Nifurtimox remain as therapeutic agents against this disease. However, their use is restricted because of the toxic and side effects. Therefore, the search for new molecules with trypanocidal activity and with low toxicity to the host cells is required. Terpenoid and derivatives are attractive because they are abundant in the plant Kingdom and many of them showed activity against various parasites. In this study, we tested an abietane (12-hydroxy-11,14-diketo-6,8,12-abietatrien-19,20-olide) obtained from Salvia cuspidata (Ruiz & Pav. Subsp. gilliesii (Benth) J.R.I. Wood ,Lamiaceae) on the in-vitro growth of T.cruzi (strain Dm28C) and evaluated the effects on ultrastructure of parasites. Parasites (epimastigotes) were grown for 24-48 h in the Diamond liquid medium, in the presence or the absence of the compound at different concentrations. The compound showed to be active against T.cruzi, inhibiting the growth of parasites at low concentrations (1-10 ug/ml). However, the compound induced low mortality on parasites at concentrations lesser than 5 ug/ml. In turn, the compound was non toxic to mammalian cells at the concentrations used. We also observed that abietane induced an intense vacuolization on parasites, even at 7,5 ug/ml. Further studies should be done in future to identify the molecular targets on the parasites and the active groups on the molecule, through chemical modifications. These promising results are a breakthrough in the search for new molecules that could be used in future as a therapeutic agent for the Chagas` disease.