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In vitro and in vivo trypanocidal activity of native plants from the Yucatan Peninsula

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Abstract

Ethanol extracts of Senna villosa, Serjania yucatanensis, Byrsonima bucidaefolia, and Bourreria pulchra were evaluated for their in vitro activity against epimastigotes and trypomastigotes of Trypanosoma cruzi. Results showed that the leaf extracts of S. yucatanensis and B. pulchra were the most active against epimastigotes (IC100 = 100 μg/mL) and trypomastigotes of T. cruzi (95% or more reduction in the number of parasites at 100 and 50 μg/mL). However, only the leaf extract of S. yucatanensis showed significant trypanocidal activity when tested in vivo, reducing 75% of the parasitemia in infected mice at 100 mg/kg. This same extract inhibited the egress of trypomastigotes from infected cells and proved not to be cytotoxic (IC50 = 318.8 ± 2.3 μg/mL).

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Paulino Simá for the technical assistance and the identification of the plant material. GPH acknowledges the support of Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT), through its “Becas Mixtas” Program, to carry out a research stay at the University of Antofagasta. This work was supported by Project FOMIX-Yucatán (66262) and Programa de Cooperación Bilateral México-Chile.

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Correspondence to Luis M. Peña-Rodríguez.

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Figure S1

Cytotoxic effect of crude extracts at 100, 50, and 25 μg/mL against Vero cells by the resazurin method. Data are expressed as the percentage of growth inhibition as compared with the growth of untreated control cells. SYH leaf extract of S. yucatanensis, BPH leaf extract of B. pulchra, BBH leaf extract of B. bucidaefolia, SVH leaf extract of S. villosa. (DOC 142 kb)

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Polanco-Hernández, G., Escalante-Erosa, F., García-Sosa, K. et al. In vitro and in vivo trypanocidal activity of native plants from the Yucatan Peninsula. Parasitol Res 110, 31–35 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-011-2447-8

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