scholarly journals Anti-trypanosomal screening of Salvadoran flora

Author(s):  
Ulises G. Castillo ◽  
Ayato Komatsu ◽  
Morena L. Martínez ◽  
Jenny Menjívar ◽  
Marvin J. Núñez ◽  
...  

AbstractChagas disease is caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, and in Central America, it is considered one of the four most infectious diseases. This study aimed to screen the anti-trypanosomal activity of plant species from Salvadoran flora. Plants were selected through literature search for plants ethnobotanically used for antiparasitic and Chagas disease symptomatology, and reported in Museo de Historia Natural de El Salvador (MUHNES) database. T. cruzi was incubated for 72 h with 2 different concentrations of methanolic extracts of 38 species, among which four species, Piper jacquemontianum, Piper lacunosum, Trichilia havanensis, and Peperomia pseudopereskiifolia, showed the activity (≤ 52.0% viability) at 100 µg/mL. Separation of the methanolic extract of aerial parts from Piper jacquemontianum afforded a new flavanone (4) and four known compounds, 2,2-dimethyl-6-carboxymethoxychroman-4-one (1), 2,2-dimethyl-6-carboxychroman-4-one (2), cardamomin (3), and pinocembrin (5), among which cardamomin exhibited the highest anti-trypanosomal activity (IC50 = 66 µM). Detailed analyses of the spectral data revealed that the new compound 4, named as jaqueflavanone A, was a derivative of pinocembrin having a prenylated benzoate moiety at the 8-position of the A ring. Graphic abstract

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 985-985
Author(s):  
RIF S. EL-MALLAKH

To the Editor.— Mitochondrial failure, manifest by changes in mitochondrial enzyme activity1-3 and morphology,4-5 is central to Reye's syndrome (RS).6 Although it has been variously hypothesized that the mitochondrial changes are secondary to an exogenous toxin,7-12 or an intrinsic mitochondrial defect,6 the actual cause remains obscure. Electron microscopic studies have shown sweelling and loss of cristate in mitochondria of patients with RS. It is interesting that very similar changes occur in Trypanosoma cruzi.13-16 T cruzi is an extracellular/intracellular protozoan parasite which causes Chagas' disease.17


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander S.F. Berry ◽  
Renzo Salazar-Sánchez ◽  
Ricardo Castillo-Neyra ◽  
Katty Borrini-Mayorí ◽  
Claudia Arevalo-Nieto ◽  
...  

AbstractAnthropogenic environmental alterations such as urbanization can threaten native populations as well as create novel environments that allow human pests and pathogens to thrive. As the number and size of urban environments increase globally, it is more important than ever to understand the dispersal dynamics of hosts, vectors and pathogens of zoonotic disease systems. For example, a protozoan parasite and the causative agent of Chagas disease in humans, Trypanosoma cruzi, recently colonized and spread through the city of Arequipa, Peru. We used population genomic and phylogenomic tools to analyze whole genomes of 123 T. cruzi isolates collected throughout Arequipa to determine patterns of T. cruzi dispersal. The data show significant population genetic structure within city blocks-parasites in the same block tend to be very closely related - but no population structure among blocks within districts - parasites in neighboring blocks are no more closely related to one another than to parasites in distant districts. These data suggest that T. cruzi dispersal within a block occurs regularly and that occasional long-range dispersal events allow the establishment of new T. cruzi populations in distant blocks. Movement of domestic animals may be the primary mechanism of inter-block and inter-district T. cruzi dispersal.Author SummaryUrbanization creates environments that are ideal for some human pests and pathogens. As the number and size of urban environments increases globally, it is becoming vital to understand how human disease-causing pathogens, their vectors, and their non-human hosts disperse through urban landscapes. Here we study a population of Trypanosoma cruzi – the protozoan parasite and causative agent of Chagas disease in humans – that recently colonized the city of Arequipa, Peru. We use population genomic and phylogenomic tools to understand how this parasite population dispersed through the city to achieve its current distribution and abundance. We show that T. cruzi collected from the same city block tend to be very closely related, while those from neighboring blocks are often as distantly related as those from blocks in distant districts. The data suggest that vectors facilitate frequent within-block dispersal of the parasite, while domestic animal movement may facilitate the relatively infrequent inter-block and interdistrict dispersal.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL4) ◽  
pp. 3049-3052
Author(s):  
Rani Sebastian ◽  
Jayakar B ◽  
Gomathi V

The study was designed to evaluate the phytoconstituents present in the methanolic extract of aerial parts of Abelmoschus moschatus. The qualitative phytochemical screening of different extracts of aerial parts revealed the presence of some bioactive compounds. GC – MS analysis was performed using Shimadzu Gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (Model Number: QP2010S) instrument. GC-MS detection of phytoconstituents was done by computer evaluation of mass spectra of samples through National Institute Standard and Technology (NIST II) and WILEY 8 library. GC – MS analysis detected the presence of 14 compounds. GC – MS profile of the methanolic extract revealed the presence of megastigmatrienone, phytol, loliolide, farnesyl acetate, methyl linoleates, gamma-sitosterol, cis, cis, cis-7,10,13-Hexadecatrienal, thymine, pyranone, coumarin, 2 – methoxy 4 – vinyl phenol, guanosine, chinasaure and 3- cyclopentyl propionic acid 2 dimethyl aminoethyl ester. The current study suggests that methanolic extracts of aerial parts of Abelmoschus moschatus contain phytoconstituents with antioxidant and cytoprotective activity. The study results will pave a way for the production of therapeutic agents which can be used for the treatment of various diseases.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamara Regina Calvo ◽  
Cássia Regina Primila Cardoso ◽  
Adriana Candido da Silva Moura ◽  
Lourdes Campaner dos Santos ◽  
Ilce Mara Syllos Colus ◽  
...  

Indigofera truxillensisandI. suffruticosa, are used as a source of indigo dye and to treat several diseases. The mutagenic activity of the methanolic extracts from aerial parts, glycerolipid, flavonoid and alkaloid fractions of the extract were evaluated by means ofSalmonella/microsome assays using TA100, TA98, TA102 and TA97a strains. The methanolic extract ofI. truxillensisshowed mutagenic activity in the TA98 strain without S9 while glycerolipid fraction was devoid of activity. The flavonoid and alkaloid fractions of both plants showed mutagenicity. Chemical analysis of flavonoid fractions ofI. truxillensisandI. suffruticosaresulted in the identification of kaempferol, quercetin and their derivatives. The alkaloid fraction of both the species contained indigo and indirubin and indigo was found mainly responsible for the mutagenic activity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (10) ◽  
pp. 3659
Author(s):  
Tanira Matutino Bastos ◽  
Milena Botelho Pereira Soares ◽  
Caio Haddad Franco ◽  
Laura Alcântara ◽  
Lorenzo Antonini ◽  
...  

Chagas disease is an illness caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, affecting more than 7 million people in the world. Benznidazole and nifurtimox are the only drugs available for treatment and in addition to causing several side effects, are only satisfactory in the acute phase of the disease. Sirtuins are NAD+-dependent deacetylases involved in several biological processes, which have become drug target candidates in various disease settings. T. cruzi presents two sirtuins, one cytosolic (TcSir2rp1) and the latter mitochondrial (TcSir2rp3). Here, we characterized the effects of human sirtuin inhibitors against T. cruzi sirtuins as an initial approach to develop specific parasite inhibitors. We found that, of 33 compounds tested, two inhibited TcSir2rp1 (15 and 17), while other five inhibited TcSir2rp3 (8, 12, 13, 30, and 32), indicating that specific inhibitors can be devised for each one of the enzymes. Furthermore, all inhibiting compounds prevented parasite proliferation in cultured mammalian cells. When combining the most effective inhibitors with benznidazole at least two compounds, 17 and 32, demonstrated synergistic effects. Altogether, these results support the importance of exploring T. cruzi sirtuins as drug targets and provide key elements to develop specific inhibitors for these enzymes as potential targets for Chagas disease treatment.


2005 ◽  
Vol 49 (8) ◽  
pp. 3234-3238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Senkovich ◽  
Vandanajay Bhatia ◽  
Nisha Garg ◽  
Debasish Chattopadhyay

ABSTRACT Trypanosoma cruzi, a protozoan parasite, is the causative agent for Chagas' disease, which poses serious public health problem in Latin America. The two drugs available for the treatment of this disease are effective only against recent infections and are toxic. Dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) has a proven track record as a drug target. The lipophilic antifolate trimetrexate (TMQ), which is an FDA-approved drug for the treatment of Pneumocystis carinii infection in AIDS patients, is a potent inhibitor of T. cruzi DHFR activity, with an inhibitory constant of 6.6 nM. The compound is also highly effective in killing T. cruzi parasites. The 50 and 90% lethal dose values against the trypomastigote are 19 and 36 nM, and the corresponding values for the amastigote form are 26 and 72 nM, respectively. However, as TMQ is also a good inhibitor of human DHFR, further improvement of the selectivity of this drug would be preferable. Identification of a novel antifolate selective against T. cruzi would open up new therapeutic avenues for treatment of Chagas' disease.


Author(s):  
Divyang Patel ◽  
Vimal Kumar

Obesity is one of the most prevalent health concerns among all age groups & populations worldwide, resulting into a significant increase in mortality and morbidity related to metabolic disorders. Targeting one or more enzymes involved in lipid metabolism can be selective for evaluation of anti obesity action of drug. The present study was aimed to evaluate in vitro anti obesity action by inhibiting pancreatic lipase & ᾳ amylase enzyme by various fractions of methanolic extract of aerial parts Fagonia cretica L. along with their phytochemical analysis. The n- hexane (HFFC), Chloroform (CFFC), Ethyl acetate (EAFFC), n-butanol (BFFC) & aqueous fractions (AQFFC) were prepared from methanolic extracts of F. cretica L & were analyzed for qualitative as well as quantitative phytochemical study using reported methods. The qualitative phytochemical studies of prepared extract & fractions showed presence of flavonoids, saponins, phenolics, alkaloids & carbohydrates. All the fractions were then examined for their in-vitro lipase inhibitory & ᾳ amylase inhibitory activities at a concentration level of 50, 100, 150 & 200µg/ml and their percentage inhibitory effects were reported. Among the analyzed samples, BFFC showed highest lipase inhibitory action i.e. 83.02 ± 2.47% as compared to other fractions. EAFFC showed significantly higher ᾳ amylase inhibitory action i.e. 80.22 ± 1.18% as compared to other fractions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (03) ◽  
pp. 277-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svetoslav Nanev Slavov ◽  
Katia Kaori Otaguiri ◽  
Mariana Tomazini Pinto ◽  
Vanderléia Bárbaro Valente ◽  
Eugênia Maria Amorim Ubiali ◽  
...  

Introduction: American tripanosomiasis (Chagas disease), the second most neglected disease in the world, is caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. Though natural transmission by insect vectors has been controlled, there is significant risk of T. cruzi transmission by blood transfusion in non-endemic regions, generally due to immigration processes from endemic areas. Methodology: The objective of this study was to evaluate anti-T. cruzi seroprevalence in blood donors from the western part of São Paulo State, Brazil, by serologic and immunofluorescence confirmation tests for the period between 2012 and 2014. Currently, this region is regarded as a non-endemic area for Chagas disease. Results: The confirmed overall T. cruzi seroprevalence among blood donors was 0.10%, which can be considered low compared to other Brazilian regions. Nevertheless, the distribution of the anti-T. cruzi antibodies within the examined region was uneven, and some areas of significantly higher prevalence were observed. Conclusions: We could consider two tendencies in the prevalence of T. cruzi: (i) residual older undiagnosed cases from São Paulo State, and (ii) immigration from endemic Brazilian or South American regions. The discordance obtained for T. cruzi prevalence by serologic and immunofluorescence methods demonstrates that more specific routine diagnosis is needed to diminish the cost of the assays and the loss of blood supply once all seropositive blood bags are immediately discarded.


Vaccines ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 71
Author(s):  
Flavio Di Pisa ◽  
Stefano De Benedetti ◽  
Enrico Mario Alessandro Fassi ◽  
Mauro Bombaci ◽  
Renata Grifantini ◽  
...  

Chagas disease (CD) is a vector-borne parasitosis, caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, that affects millions of people worldwide. Although endemic in South America, CD is emerging throughout the world due to climate change and increased immigratory flux of infected people to non-endemic regions. Containing of the diffusion of CD is challenged by the asymptomatic nature of the disease in early infection stages and by the lack of a rapid and effective diagnostic test. With the aim of designing new serodiagnostic molecules to be implemented in a microarray-based diagnostic set-up for early screening of CD, herein, we report the recombinant production of the extracellular domain of a surface membrane antigen from T. cruzi (TcSMP) and confirm its ability to detect plasma antibodies from infected patients. Moreover, we describe its high-resolution (1.62 Å) crystal structure, to which in silico epitope predictions were applied in order to locate the most immunoreactive regions of TcSMP in order to guide the design of epitopes that may be used as an alternative to the full-length antigen for CD diagnosis. Two putative, linear epitopes, belonging to the same immunogenic region, were synthesized as free peptides, and their immunological properties were tested in vitro. Although both peptides were shown to adopt a structural conformation that allowed their recognition by polyclonal antibodies raised against the recombinant protein, they were not serodiagnostic for T. cruzi infections. Nevertheless, they represent good starting points for further iterative structure-based (re)design cycles.


EDIS ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
John L. Capinera

The eastern bloodsucking conenose belongs to the subfamily Triatominae, known as the kissing bugs. Despite their affectionate vernacular name, they are particularly threatening “assassin bugs” who require blood meals to survive and reproduce. They are a known vector of American trypanosomiasis (or Chagas Disease) in South America, a debilitating illness caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. This disease is a problem in South and Central America and has been detected in the United States, but has not been found in Florida. This 4-page fact sheet was written by John L. Capinera, and published by the UF Department of Entomology and Nematology, November 2013. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1018


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