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de Sousa JMS, Nunes TADL, Rodrigues RRL, de Sousa JPA, Val MDCA, Coelho FADR, dos Santos ALS, Maciel NB, de Souza VMR, Machado YAA, Sousa PSDA, de Araújo AR, Rocha JA, de Sousa DP, da Silva MV, Arcanjo DDR, Rodrigues KADF. Cytotoxic and Antileishmanial Effects of the Monoterpene β-Ocimene. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2023; 16:183. [PMID: 37259336 PMCID: PMC9960243 DOI: 10.3390/ph16020183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Revised: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a group of infectious-parasitic diseases with high mortality rates, and endemic in many regions of the globe. The currently available drugs present serious problems such as high toxicity, costs, and the emergence of drug resistance. This has stimulated research into new antileishmania drugs based on natural products and their derivatives. β-Ocimene is a monoterpene found naturally in the essential oils of many plant species which presents antileishmanial activity, and which has not yet been evaluated for its potential to inhibit the etiological agent of leishmaniasis. The aim of this work was to evaluate the activity of β-ocimene against Leishmania amazonensis, its cytotoxicity, and potential mechanisms of action. β-Ocimene presented direct activity against the parasite, with excellent growth inhibition of promastigotes (IC50 = 2.78 μM) and axenic amastigotes (EC50 = 1.12 μM) at concentrations non-toxic to RAW 264.7 macrophages (CC50 = 114.5 µM). The effect is related to changes in membrane permeability and resulting abnormalities in the parasitic cell shape. These were, respectively, observed in membrane integrity and atomic force microscopy assays. β-Ocimene was also shown to act indirectly, with greater activity against intra-macrophagic amastigotes (EC50 = 0.89 μM), increasing TNF-α, nitric oxide (NO), and reactive oxygen species (ROS), with lysosomal effects, as well as promoting decreases in IL-10 and IL-6. Against intra-macrophagic amastigote forms the selectivity index was higher than the reference drugs, being 469.52 times more selective than meglumine antimoniate, and 42.88 times more selective than amphotericin B. Our results suggest that β-ocimene possesses promising in vitro antileishmania activity and is a potential candidate for investigation in in vivo assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julyanne Maria Saraiva de Sousa
- Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Campus Ministro Reis Velloso, Parnaíba Delta Federal University, Parnaíba 64202-020, PI, Brazil
| | - Thaís Amanda de Lima Nunes
- Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Campus Ministro Reis Velloso, Parnaíba Delta Federal University, Parnaíba 64202-020, PI, Brazil
| | - Raiza Raianne Luz Rodrigues
- Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Campus Ministro Reis Velloso, Parnaíba Delta Federal University, Parnaíba 64202-020, PI, Brazil
| | - João Paulo Araújo de Sousa
- Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Campus Ministro Reis Velloso, Parnaíba Delta Federal University, Parnaíba 64202-020, PI, Brazil
| | | | - Francisco Alex da Rocha Coelho
- Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Campus Ministro Reis Velloso, Parnaíba Delta Federal University, Parnaíba 64202-020, PI, Brazil
| | - Airton Lucas Sousa dos Santos
- Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Campus Ministro Reis Velloso, Parnaíba Delta Federal University, Parnaíba 64202-020, PI, Brazil
| | - Nicolle Barreira Maciel
- Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Campus Ministro Reis Velloso, Parnaíba Delta Federal University, Parnaíba 64202-020, PI, Brazil
| | - Vanessa Maria Rodrigues de Souza
- Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Campus Ministro Reis Velloso, Parnaíba Delta Federal University, Parnaíba 64202-020, PI, Brazil
| | - Yasmim Alves Aires Machado
- Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Campus Ministro Reis Velloso, Parnaíba Delta Federal University, Parnaíba 64202-020, PI, Brazil
| | - Paulo Sérgio de Araújo Sousa
- Research Group on Medicinal Chemistry and Biotechnology, Federal University of Maranhão, São Bernardo 65550-000, MA, Brazil
| | - Alyne Rodrigues de Araújo
- Research Center in Biodiversity and Biotechnology, Campus Ministro Reis Velloso, Parnaíba Delta Federal University, Parnaíba 64202-020, PI, Brazil
| | - Jefferson Almeida Rocha
- Research Group on Medicinal Chemistry and Biotechnology, Federal University of Maranhão, São Bernardo 65550-000, MA, Brazil
- Research Center in Biodiversity and Biotechnology, Campus Ministro Reis Velloso, Parnaíba Delta Federal University, Parnaíba 64202-020, PI, Brazil
| | - Damião Pergentino de Sousa
- Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Campus I, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa 58051-900, PB, Brazil
| | - Marcos Vinicius da Silva
- Laboratory of Immunology and Parasitology, Institute of Biological and Natural Sciences, Federal University of Triângulo Mineiro, Uberaba 38025-180, MG, Brazil
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