Inhibitory activity of limonene against Leishmania parasites in vitro and in vivo

Autor(es)

Arruda, Denise C. ^[1] ; Miguel, Danilo C. ^[1] ; Yokoyama-Yasunaka, Jenicer K. U. ^[1] ; Katzin, Alejandro M. ^[1] ; Uliana, Silvia R. B. ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Ciencias Biomed, Dept Parasitol, BR-05508900 Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: BIOMEDICINE & PHARMACOTHERAPY; v. 63, n. 9, p. 643-649, NOV 2009.
• Citações Web of Science: 40

Resumo

Limonene is a monoterpene that has antitumoral, antibiotic and antiprotozoal activity. In this study we demonstrate the activity of limonene against Leishmania species in vitro and in vivo. Limonene killed Leishmania amazonensis promastigotes and amastigotes with 50% inhibitory concentrations of 252.0 +/- 49.0 and 147.0 +/- 46.0 mu M, respectively. Limonene was also effective against Leishmania major, Leishmania braziliensis and Leishmania chagasi promastigotes. The treatment of L. amazonensis-infected macrophages with 300 mu M limonene resulted in 78% reduction in infection rates. L. amazonensis-infected mice treated topically or intrarectally with limonene had significant reduction of lesion sizes. A significant decrease in the parasite load was shown in the lesions treated topically with limonene by histopathological examination. The intrarectal treatment was highly effective in decreasing the parasite burden, healing established lesions and suppressing the dissemination of ulcers. Limonene presents low toxicity in humans and has been shown to be effective as an agent for enhancing the percutaneous permeation of drugs. Our results suggest that limonene should be tested in different experimental models of infection by Leishmania. (C) 2009 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 08/51256-7 - Peptídeos e derivados baseados na estrutura de CDRs de imunoglobulinas: atividade anti-tumoral de mAbc C7 H2 e MAb hua L1 anti-melanoma (b16f-10-nex2 e melanoma humano) e anti-leucemia (HL-60) in vitro e in vivo e possíveis mecanismos de ação
• Beneficiário: Denise Costa Arruda
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Pós-Doutorado
• Processo FAPESP: 05/59881-0 - Investigação de mecanismos de ação do tamoxifeno em parasitas do gênero Leishmania e estudo de sua eficácia no tratamento da leishmaniose experimental
• Beneficiário: Danilo Ciccone Miguel
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado Direto