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In vitro and in vivo antileishmanial activities of a Brazilian green propolis extract

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Abstract

The in vitro antileishmanial activity of Brazilian green propolis hydroalcoholic extract (BPE) were carried out on Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis against both promastigote (doses ranging from 1 to 750 μg mL−1) and amastigote (10, 100, and 250 μg mL−1) assays in comparison with the positive (amphotericin B) and negative (dimethyl sulfoxide at 1% in physiologic solution) control groups. BPE displayed in vitro antileishmanial activities against promastigote forms of the parasite (p < 0.05). However, it was inactive against its amastigote ones. In the in vitro cytotoxicity assay against Vero cells, BPE showed no cytotoxicity in the maximum doses tested. The high-performance liquid chromatography analysis allowed the identification of caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, aromadendrine-4′-methyl-ether, 3-prenyl-p-coumaric acid (drupanin), and 3,5-diprenil-p-cumárico acid (artepillin C) as major compounds of BPE. In the in vivo assay, using a Balb/C lineage of Mus musculus male mice, groups of ten animals each were treated (1.5 mg kg day−1) with BPE orally (group 1), BPE topically (group 2), BPE orally and topically (group 3), and glucantime (group 4), using NaCl 0.9% (group 5) as the negative control group. Groups 1, 2, and 3 displayed a decrease on lesion development, after 90 days of treatment, by 78.6%, 84.3%, and 90.0%, respectively, while the glucantime-treated group showed 57.7% of decrease, all in comparison with the negative control group. It is the first time that the in vivo antileishmanial activity has been reported for Brazilian green propolis.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to CAPES for fellowships (grant no. PDEE/BEX 0387/04-5) and FAPESP for financial support (Grant number 01/14219-7). We are also thankful to Apis Flora Commercial for kindly providing the Brazilian green propolis material.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Avenida do café s/n, 14040-903, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil

    Karina Pontin, Jairo Kenupp Bastos & Sérgio de Albuquerque

  2. Grupo de Pesquisas em Produtos Naturais, Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Exatas e Tecnológicas da Universidade de Franca, 14404-600, Franca, SP, Brazil

    Ademar A. Da Silva Filho, Fransérgio Francisco Santos, Márcio Luís Andrade e Silva & Wilson Roberto Cunha

  3. National Center for Natural Products Research, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, Oxford, 38677, MS, USA

    N. P. Dhammika Nanayakkara

Authors
  1. Karina Pontin
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  2. Ademar A. Da Silva Filho
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  3. Fransérgio Francisco Santos
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  4. Márcio Luís Andrade e Silva
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  5. Wilson Roberto Cunha
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  6. N. P. Dhammika Nanayakkara
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  7. Jairo Kenupp Bastos
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  8. Sérgio de Albuquerque
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Correspondence to Jairo Kenupp Bastos.

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Pontin, K., Da Silva Filho, A.A., Santos, F.F. et al. In vitro and in vivo antileishmanial activities of a Brazilian green propolis extract. Parasitol Res 103, 487–492 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-008-0970-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-008-0970-z

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