Evaluation of antiparasitary, cytotoxic and antioxidant activity and chemical analysis of Tarenaya spinosa (Jacq.) Raf. (Cleomaceae)

Active principles found in plants may aid in antiparasitic treatments, however it is important to evaluate if they do not have cytotoxicity. The leishmanicidal and trypanocidal activities of Tarenaya spinosa were evaluated, as well as the cytotoxic potential of their extracts, as well as the phytochemical and antioxidant profile. The phytochemical profile was described by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance of Hydrogen (1H-NMR) and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC-DAD). The antiparasitic activity was performed with the promastigote forms of Leishmania spp. and epimastigotes from Trypanosoma cruzi. Cytotoxicity was assessed using NCTC mammalian clone 929 fibroblasts. The antioxidant potential was assessed with the DPPH free radical. The ethanolic extract (EETS) and aqueous (EATS) presented terpenes, steroids, nitrogen compounds, sugars, phenolic compounds (simple phenylpropanoides and coumarins), flavonoids and chacolnas. The polyphenolic profile showed that caffeic acid was the major compound of both extracts. It was observed that the EETS showed a significant antileishmania activity against L. brasiliensis (LC50 81.75 μg/mL) and L. infantum (LC50 141.6 μg/mL), whereas EATS had low antileishmania activity. Against T. cruzi, the extracts presented LC50 > 1000 μg/mL. The extracts of T. spinosa present high antioxidant activity, with EETS having an IC50 of 377.7 μg/mL and EATS IC50 of 445.8 μg/mL. However, EETS was toxic to fibroblasts with an LC50 of 397.9 μg/mL, whereas no cytotoxicity was observed for EATS. Therefore, EATS is a promising source of antioxidant compounds since it does not present cytotoxicity. © 2019 South African Association of Botanist