Effects of Melia azedarach extract on T. cruzi epimastigotes proliferation

FRACCAROLI L; RUIZ MD; TORRES P; LAROCCA L; CARRILLO C; DE PINO V

Mar del Plata

Congreso; Reunión Anual de Sociedades de Biociencias; 2019

SAP, SAB, SAFE, SAIC

Chagas disease is an endemic parasitosis caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi).The current therapies are limited in efficacy and show multiple side effects. Thus, there is a needto identify new effective and specific trypanocidal strategies. Melia azedarach (MA), native of Asiabut widely distributed in several countries, known as ?Paraíso?, has been described to havetherapeutic properties such as antifungal and antihelmintic.The aim of this work is to evaluate the effect of extracts obtained from ripe fruits from MA in theproliferation of T. cruzi epimastigotes.To approach this aim we performed MA extracts using water, ethanol and DMSO as solvents. Wetested the extracts in cultures of epimastigotes from the Y-GFP strain in concentrations between 0and 6 mg/ml. We observed that only DMSO extracts dose dependently decreased the proliferationof the parasites. The IC50 calculated at day 4 of culture was 0.94 mg/ml (0.81-1.09 mg/ml). Toevaluate the stability, we stored the extract at 4ºC and -20ºC during 15 days. Then, we calculatedthe IC50 of both in Y-GFP epimastigotes observing that the storage at -20ºC maintained theactivity while the extract at 4ºC decreased its activity by half.We tested the citotoxicity of the DMSO extract in Vero cell line with MTT assay, calculating aselectivity index of 1.2. While it is not optimal, it is proximal to those obtained for Nifurtimox orBenznidazole. We performed an HPLC separation of the extract recollecting different fractions.Preliminary results showed that the individual fractions did not decrease epimastigotesproliferation, while the pool of those fractions restored the effect.The results present herein propose that the extracts obtained from ripe fruits of MA havebioactive compounds that affect the proliferation and viability of T. cruzi epimastigotes suggestingthat the citotoxic activity may be the result of the interaction of different compounds present inthe extract.