Chemical composition and evaluation of antileishmanial and cytotoxic activities of the essential oil from leaves of Cryptocarya aschersoniana Mez. (Lauraceae Juss.)

Abstract

Leishmaniasis is an endemic disease caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania, which affects around two million people worldwide. One major drawback in the treatment of leishmaniasis is the emergence of resistance to current chemotherapeutics. Medicinal and aromatic plants constitute a major source of natural organic compounds. In this study, the leaf essential oil of Cryptocarya aschersoniana was obtained by hydrodistillation in a Clevenger-type apparatus, and the chemical composition was analyzed by GC-MS and GC-FID. The essential oil of these species was predominantly constituted by monoterpene hydrocarbons (48.8%). Limonene (42.3%), linalool (9.7%) and nerolidol (8.6%) were the main constituents in the oil of C. aschersoniana. The in vitro activity of the oil was evaluated against the promastigote forms of Leishmania amazonensis, the causative agent of cutaneous leishmaniasis in humans. The essential oil of C. aschersoniana showed high activity against L. amazonensis promastigote forms (IC 50 = 4.46 µg/mL), however, it also demonstrated a relatively high cytotoxicity on mouse peritoneal macrophages (CC 50 = 7.71 µg/mL). This is the first report of the chemical composition and the leishmanicidal and cytotoxic activities of the leaf essential oil of C. aschersoniana.

Antichemotactic and Antifungal Action of the Essential Oils from Cryptocarya aschersoniana, Schinus terebinthifolia, and Cinnamomum amoenum

“…In the essential oil obtained from S. terebinthifolia, 37 compounds were identified; germacrene B being the most abundant, comprising 14.9 % of the total, followed by δ-cadinene (7.6 %) and βelemene Different from the results obtained, a study with C. aschersoniana collected in Southeastern Brazil showed that the fraction of monoterpenes was predominant. [21] Studies of the genus Cinnamomum do not report the presence of major compounds similar to those described in this study, but common compounds were described by Sriramavaratharajan et al [22] in the essential oil of C. agasthyamalayanum: α-pinene (5.3 %), bicyclogermacrene (2.8 %), and traces of sabinene and α-copaene. In contrast, a study with S. terebinthifolia essential oil indicated δ-3-carene, αpinene, trans-ocimene, among others, as major compounds.…”

Piper aduncum essential oil: a promising insecticide, acaricide and antiparasitic. A review

“…Antiparasitic activities, mostly antileishmanial effects, represent the second largest group of results, and are supported by other studies showing these properties of various EOs, such as Cryptocarya aschersoniana EO [2] and others.…”

Effect of essential oils on Leishmania amazonensis: a systematic review

“…Cryptocarya aschersoniana : The EO of C. aschersoniana obtained by hydrodistillation presented monoterpene hydrocarbons (48.8%), limonene (42.3%), linalool (9.7%) and nerolidol (8.6%) as predominant constituents. Its EO had high activity against L. amazonensis promastigote forms (IC 50 4.46 μ g mL −1 ); however, it also demonstrated relatively high cytotoxicity against mouse peritoneal macrophages (CC 50 7.71 μ g mL −1 ) (Andrade et al ., 2018).…”