In vitro and in vivo antimalarial activity of the volatile oil of Cyperus articulatus (Cyperaceae)

Abstract

Malaria is a disease of global tropical distribution, being endemic in more than 90 countries and responsible for about 212 million cases worldwide in 2016. To date, the strategies used to eradicate this disease have been ineffective, without specific preventive measures such as vaccines. Currently, the existing therapeutic arsenal is limited and has become ineffective against the expansion of artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium, demonstrating the need for studies that would allow the development of new compounds against this disease. In this context, we studied the volatile oil obtained from rhizomes of Cyperus articulatus (VOCA), a plant species commonly found in the Amazon region and popularly used as a therapeutic alternative for the treatment of malaria, in order to confirm its potential as an antimalarial agent by in vitro and in vivo assays. We cultured Plasmodium falciparum W2 (chloroquine-resistant) and 3D7 (chloroquine-sensitive) strains in erythrocytes and exposed them to VOCA at different concentrations in 96-well microplates. In vivo antimalarial activity was tested in BALB/c mice inoculated with approximately 106 erythrocytes infected with Plasmodium berghei. VOCA showed a high antimalarial potential against the two P. falciparum strains, with IC50 = 1.21 μg mL-1 for W2 and 2.30 μg mL-1 for 3D7. VOCA also significantly reduced the parasitemia and anemia induced by P. berghei in mice. Our results confirmed the antimalarial potential of the volatile oil of Cyperus articulatus.

Cyperus articulatus L. (Cyperaceae) Rhizome Essential Oil Causes Cell Cycle Arrest in the G2/M Phase and Cell Death in HepG2 Cells and Inhibits the Development of Tumors in a Xenograft Model

“…The main chemical constituents present in this EO sample were muskatone, cyclocolorenone, α-pinene, pogostol, α-copaene and caryophyllene oxide. The compositional results obtained are in accordance with the previously published EO of C. articulatus rhizome collected in the state of Pará, Brazil [5,22]. On the other hand, the same species, when collected in African countries (e.g., Egypt), presented different main compositions, including γ-patchoulene, caryophyllene oxide and α-cadinol [23], indicating a high variability in the composition of EO.…”

Antiplasmodial Activity of Hydroalcoholic Extract from Jucá (Libidibia ferrea) Pods

“…The hydroalcoholic extract of Jucá did not present cytotoxic activity in the cell viability assay with MTT and had a hemolysis of <9% at a maximum concentration of 2000 µg/mL, with 0% hemolysis at concentrations below 31.25 µg/mL. Similar results were obtained for C. articulatus essential oil, which showed a noncytotoxic effect for human lung fibroblasts [52].…”

“…Working with a different Amazonian plant, Assis et al [33] obtained an IC 50 value of 1.21 µg/mL for the P. falciparum W2 strain using a Cyperus articulatus residue extract. In another study on the same plant (C. articulatus) but using the essential oil, a similar IC 50 was obtained [52]. This may indicate an unraveled potential that Amazon biodiversity poses to the discovery of new antiplasmodial compounds.…”

Present and Future Potential of Antiparasitic Activity of Opuntia ficus-indica

“…65,66 The same approach was found from a recent study that reported the Cyperus articulatus essential oil has anti-malarial (Plasmodium falciparum) due to the compounds; mustakone, cyclocolorenone, cyperotundone, α-cyperone, α,βunsaturated carbonyl moiety. 67 This is likely to be due to the antimalarial potential of these compounds which may be related to the tendency of the nucleic acids of Plasmodium to react with the α,βunsaturated carbonyl moiety. 68 With regard to volatile oil, the components of the oil extracted from Opuntia ficus indica were identified as follows, unsaturated fatty acids, triacylglycerols, phytosterols, and tocopherols.…”