Anti-proliferative effect of the essential oil ofCymbopogon citratus(DC) Stapf (lemongrass) on intracellular amastigotes, bloodstream trypomastigotes and culture epimastigotes ofTrypanosoma cruzi(Protozoa: Kinetoplastida)

Abstract

This study analyses the anti-proliferative effect of lemongrass essential oil and its main constituent (citral) on all 3 evolutive forms of Trypanosoma cruzi. Steam distillation was used to obtain lemongrass essential oil, with chemical composition determined by gas chromatography (GC) and GC coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The IC50/24 h (concentration that reduced the parasite population by 50%) of the oil and of citral upon T. cruzi was determined by cell counting in a Neubauer chamber, while morphological alterations were visualized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Treatment with the essential oil resulted in epimastigote growth inhibition with IC50=126.5 microg/ml, while the IC50 for trypomastigote lysis was 15.5 microg/ml. The IC50/48 h for the Association Index (% macrophage infection x number of amastigotes per cell) was 5.1 microg/ml, with a strong inhibition of intracellular amastigote proliferation. Ultrastructural analysis demonstrated cytoplasmic and nuclear extraction, while the plasma membrane remained morphologically preserved. Our data show that lemongrass essential oil is effective against T. cruzi trypomastigotes and amastigotes, and that its main component, citral, is responsible for the trypanocidal activity. These results indicate that essential oils can be promising anti-parasitic agents, opening perspectives to the discovery of more effective drugs of vegetal origin for treatment of parasitic diseases. However, additional cytotoxicity experiments on different cell lines and tests in a T. cruzi-mouse model are needed to support these data.

Chemical composition and antiprotozoal activities of Colombian Lippia spp essential oils and their major components

“…Citral, a monoterpene aldehyde synthesised by several plant genera, is a mixture of geranial and neral with demonstrated biologic activities against other pathogens, especially fungus and bacteria. In addition, citral is the main constituent of the essential oil of lemongrass and has activity against free and intracellular forms of T. cruzi parasites (Santoro et al 2007a). Essential oil from L. citriodora has also demonstrated activity against other microorganisms, such as Candida albicans (Teixeira et al 2005) and Helicobacter pylori (Ohno et al 2003).…”

Chemical constituents of the volatile oil from leaves of Annona coriacea and in vitro antiprotozoal activity

“…The trypanocidal activity against T. cruzi trypomastigotes was ascribed before to the oxygenated monoterpenes of the volatile oil from Cymbopogum citratus (Santoro et al, 2007). And, although they are in lower proportion in the A. coriacea oil, it is likely that they are related to the activity (IC50 168.50 µg/ mL) (95% C.I.…”

Anti-giardia activity of hexane extract of <i>Citrus aurantifolia</i> (Christim) swingle and some of its constituents

“…With respect to citral, there are several reports indicating that this monoterpene and derivatives showed antimicrobial effects, for instance; antimalarial activity (Singh et al, 2014), anti-leishmania activity (Machado et al, 2012), anti-nematicidal (Echeverrigaray et al, 2010), as antiprotozoal agent, against Trypanosoma cruzi trypomastigotes and amastigotes (Santoro et al, 2007), and even with antifungal action, against the growth of Candida albicans (Lima et al, 2012).…”