Cytotoxicity, antiplasmodial and antimalarial effects of the spice and medicinal tree Schinus terebinthifolius

Abstract

Schinus terebinthifolius is a medicinal plant with biological in vitro activity against clinically relevant parasites such as Leishmania amazonensis and L. chagasi. Considering its antiparasitic activity, this work aimed to investigate the in vitro effects of S. terebinthifolius fractions against P. falciparum using SYBR fluorescence tests, its cytotoxicity towards monkey kidney cells and efficacy against malaria in a murine model of P. berghei infection. For the first time, screening results with several extracts and fractions are reported herein. Five out of 16 fractions obtained from leaves, flowers, unripe and ripe berries with dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and butanol solvents used in plant extraction were active against P. falciparum. Two ethyl acetate fractions with no cytotoxicity in vitro presenting selectivity indexes of ≥111 and ≥167 exhibited no antimalarial activity in mice at 500 mg/kg. Preliminary LCMS analysis of the ethyl acetate subfractions showed antiplasmodial effect in vitro with high specific index suggesting that such activity is related to polyphenolics in the fractions, mainly flavonoids. Additional studies should be undertaken to identify the compound(s) with anti-malaria activity.

Keywords:

• Plasmodium falciparum
• Schinus terebinthifolius
• ethnopharmacology
• medicinal plant
• chemotherapy tests
• malaria

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Network Technological Platforms from FIOCRUZ, for the support and financing of the services provided by the Bioprospecting and High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry Platforms/FIOCRUZ- Minas.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Authors contributions

Conceptualization, A.U.K., I.P.C. and A.G.F.N.; methodology and investigation, I.P.C., B.B.C., D.C.S.F., L.F.L., A.P.D.C. and M.K.; resources, A.U.K and A.G.F.N.; I.P.C writing-original draft preparation; A.U.K. and A.G.F.N. supervision, writing -review and editing, funding acquisition, A.U.K. and A.G.F.N. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico-CNPq, Brazil, grants MCTIC/CNPq N°28/2018, N°409751/2018-9; PAPES VII/FIOCRUZ/CNPq N°401842/2015-0, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG Demanda Universal, grant N°2444225/2018); Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul - FAPERGS N° 16/2014, N°17/1265-8) and CNPq fellowships to the authors.