Effect of Brazilian copaiba oils on Leishmania amazonensis.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Copaiba oil has been used in folk medicine since the 19th century. The use of copaiba oils to treat leishmaniasis is cited in several ethnopharmacological studies. Nevertheless, the potential antileishmania of copaiba oils had not been studied.

AIM OF THE STUDY

Eight different kinds of Brazilian copaiba oils were screened for antileishmanial activity.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The antiproliferative effect of copaiba oil on promastigote and amastigote axenic were determined. To determine the survival index peritoneal macrophage were infected with promastigotes of Leishmania amazonensis and treated with copaiba oil. The cytotoxic effect of copaiba oil was assessed on macrophage strain J774G8 by assay of sulforhodamine B.

RESULTS

Copaiba oils showed variable levels of activity against promastigote forms with IC(50) values in the range between 5 and 22microg/mL. The most active oil was that from Copaifera reticulata (collected in Pará State, Brazil) with IC(50) values of 5, 15, and 20microg/mL for promastigote, axenic amastigote and intracellular amastigote forms, respectively. Amphotericin B showed IC(50) of 0.058 and 0.231microg/mL against promastigote and amastigote forms, respectively. Cytotoxicity assay showed that this copaiba oil obtained from Copaifera reticulata showed low cytotoxicity against J774G8 macrophages.

CONCLUSION

Copaiba oils showed significant activity against the parasite Leishmania amazonensis.