Antileishmanial activity and influence on mitochondria of the essential oil from tagetes lucida cav. And its main component.

@enCurrent antileishmanial drugs are toxic, expensive, and resistance to them has emerged. Several studies have focused on natural products as alternatives. In the present work, the chemical composition, in vitro antileishmanial activity, cytotoxicity effects, and the influence on mitochondrial function of the essential oil fromTagetes lucidaCav. was determined, as well its main compound estragole. Forty-nine compounds were detected in the oil by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), of which estragole was the main constituent (97%). The oil showed inhibition of the promastigotes ofL. tarentolaeandL. amazonensis(IC50= 61.4 and 118.8 mu g/mL, respectively), decreased oxygen consumption ofL. tarentolae, disrupted mitochondrial membrane potential inL. amazonensis, inhibitory activity on the intracellular amastigote ofL. amazonensis(IC50= 14.2 +/- 1.6 mu g/mL), and cytotoxicity values ranging from 80.8 to 156 mu g/mL against murine macrophages and J774 cells. Estragole displayed higher activity on promastigotes (IC50= 28.5 and 25.5 mu g/mL, respectively), amastigotes (IC50= 1.4 +/- 0.1 mu g/mL), and cytotoxicity values ranging from 20.6 to 14.5 mu g/mL, respectively, while on mitochondria, it caused a decrease of the membrane potential but did not inhibit oxygen consumption. The potential antileishmanial activity of the essential oil fromT. lucidaand estragole makes these compounds favorable candidates for exploration in further studies.

Aromat Plant Res Ctr
Univ Alabama
Havana Univ
Instituto de Medicina Tropical "Pedro Kourí"
Veterinärmedizinische Universität Wien