Antiamoebic Activity of Leaves and Their Main Component, Isoarborinol.

L. (Phytolacaceae) is a medicinal plant with a broad range of traditional therapeutic properties, including the treatment of dysentery and intestinal infections caused by protozoan parasites. However, its effects against have not been reported yet. We investigated the antiamoebic activity present in the leaves of Antiamoebic activity was evaluated in methanolic and aqueous extracts, as well as in the hexanic, methanolic, and EtOAc fractions. The methanolic extract showed a better antiamoebic activity than the aqueous extract with an IC = 0.51 mg/ml. Likewise, the hexanic fraction was the most effective fraction, showing a dose-dependent activity against , with an IC = 0.68 mg/ml. Hexanic subfraction 12-19 showed the highest antiamoebic activity at 0.8 mg/ml, producing 74.3% growth inhibition without any toxicity in mammal cells. A major component in subfraction 12-19 was identified as isoarborinol, which produced 51.4% growth inhibition at 0.05 mg/ml without affecting mammal cells. The leaf extract has antiamoebic activity that can be attributed to a major metabolite known as isoarborinol.