Activity of Brazilian and Bulgarian propolis against different species of Leishmania

Abstract

Extracts of propolis samples collected in Brazil and (WHO 2004). No vaccines are available for any form of the disease, and the chemotherapy of this disease is still inadequate and expensive (Croft & Yardley 2002). In this context, there is an intense search for potential new synthetic compounds and natural products for the treatment of leishmaniasis. In the last decades occurred a movement sometimes called "back to Nature", which in the area of drug development was accentuated by the success obtained, for example, by taxol in cancer chemotherapy and artemisinin for malaria (Newman et al. 2003). Such intensification in the search for drugs from natural sources was also observed in the area of leishmaniasis. In the literature there are several reports on the activity of a variety of crude natural extracts, especially from plants collected in tropical zones, against Leishmania species of the New World (Fournet et al. 1994, Akendengue et al. 1999, Weniger et al. 2001, Fournet & Munoz 2002. Most of these studies were performed with L. amazonensis and L. braziliensis that cause the cutaneous form of the disease (Lainson 1983, Hepburn 2000, and as second pathology, the first species led to the diffuse cutaneous form (Garnier & Croft 2002), and the second one to the mucocutaneous disease (Jones et al. 1987, Almeida et al. 1996; and also with L. chagasi the causal agent of visceral leishmaniasis (Lainson et al. 1987, Davidson 1999.Our group has been engaged for several years in the investigation of propolis effect against pathogenic trypanosomatids, especially Trypanosoma cruzi, agent of Chagas disease (De Castro & Higashi 1995, Marcucci et al. 2001, Cunha et al. 2004, Dantas et al. 2005. Propolis is a resinous substance that honeybees use to fill gaps and to seal parts of the hive and is collected from different plant exudates resulting in a complex mixture containing known bioactive constituents (Bankova et al. 2000). This product possesses microbicidal, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumoral activities, which have been associated with the presence of phenolic compounds (reviewed in De Castro 2001). We have previously determined the chemical composition as well as the analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of a standard ethanol extract of a Bulgarian sample (Et-Blg) (Prytzyk et al. 2003, Paulino et al. 2003) and compared its activity to that of a corresponding Brazilian extract (EtBra) against T. cruzi and several species of fungi and bacteria of medical importance . In the present work, we analyzed the effect of these extracts against different species of Leishmania. MATERIALS AND METHODSPropolis samples -The Bulgarian propolis (Blg) sample was collected at Burgas (Southeast Bulgaria) (Prytzyk et al. 2003) and the Brazilian one (Bra) at Mar de Espanha (state of Minas Gerais, Brazil) ). The exudates collected by bees in Bulgaria were mainly from buds of Populus nigra, and those in Brazil from a mixture of tropical plants. Each sample was cut in small pieces, after cooling bellow -10°C and extracted with 70% ethanol (...

Experimental chemotherapy for Chagas disease: 15 years of research contributions from in vivo and in vitro studies

“…While the results obtained with different samples all had established chemical compositions, the intrinsic complex characteristic of propolis and the in vivo results does not present propolis as an ideal trypanocidal agent for further investigation. However, since propolis from both temperate and tropical zones is active on different species of Leishmania (Machado et al 2007), studies about the in vivo topical treatment of new formulations need to be performed in cutaneous models of leishmaniasis.…”

American cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis resistant to meglumine antimoniate, but with good response to pentamidine: a case report

“…In parallel, promastigote forms in the late log phase of growth were tested in vitro for sensitivity to meglumine antimoniate (Aventis-Pharma, São Paulo) 4 . The results showed a relevant difference between isolates, with the first isolate presenting an inhibitory concentration for 50% (IC 50 ) of 0.26 + 0mg/mL and the second presenting an IC 50 of 2.10 + 0.16mg/mL.…”

Ação terapêutica da própolis em lesões cutâneas

“…Martinez Garcia et al (14) ;Duailibe et al (15) Clinical -Antimicrobial action Azevedo et al (4) ;Santos et al (11) ; Lofuto et al (35) Clinical -Therapeutic action in wound healing Peruchi et al (2) ;Park et al (3) ;Vargas et al (5) ; Fernandes Júnior et al (6) ; Silva et al (7) ;Sforcin et al (8) ; Sforcin et al (9) ;Oliveira et al (10) ; Auricchio et al (35) ; Fernandes Júnior et al (17) ;Machado et al (18) ;Longhini et al (19) ;Sawaya et al (20) ;Fernandes et al (21) ;Fernandes Júnior et al ( 22) ; Muli et al (23) ;Gebara et al (24) ;Fernandes Júnior et al (25) ;Bianchini et al (26) ;Gonçales et al (27) ;Dantas et al (28) ; Ayres et al (29) ;Orsi et al (30) ;Orsi et al (31) ;Sforcin et al (32) ;Sforcin et al (33) ;Orsi et al (34) ; Fernandes Júnior et al (36) ;Fernandes et al (37) ; Araújo et al (38) Experimental -Antimicrobial action Rahal et al (16) Experimental -Therapeutic action in wound healing (1) . Another study, which used propolis ointment on 22 chronic wounds, of which 11 were venous ulcers, seven pressure ulcers, two diabetic ulcers, and two post-trauma injuries, found that necrotic tissue was present in 14 (8.2%) during tissue assessment process.…”