Effect of Brazilian copaiba oils on Leishmania amazonensis

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Copaiba oil has been used in folk medicine since the 19th century. The use of copaiba oils to treat leishmaniasis is cited in several ethnopharmacological studies. Nevertheless, the potential antileishmania of copaiba oils had not been studied. Aim of the study: Eight different kinds of Brazilian copaiba oils were screened for antileishmanial activity. Materials and methods: The antiproliferative effect of copaiba oil on promastigote and amastigote axenic were determined. To determine the survival index peritoneal macrophage were infected with promastigotes of Leishmania amazonensis and treated with copaiba oil. The cytotoxic effect of copaiba oil was assessed on macrophage strain J774G8 by assay of sulforhodamine B. Results: Copaiba oils showed variable levels of activity against promastigote forms with IC50 values in the range between 5 and 22 mu g/mL. The most active oil was that from Copaifera reticulata (collected in Para State, Brazil) with IC50 values of 5, 15, and 20 mu g/mL for promastigote, axenic amastigote and intracellular amastigote forms, respectively. Amphotericin B showed IC50 of 0.058 and 0.231 mu g/mL against promastigote and amastigote forms, respectively. Cytotoxicity assay showed that this copaiba oil obtained from Copaifera reticulata showed low cytotoxicity against J774G8 macrophages. Conclusion: Copaiba oils showed significant activity against the parasite Leishmania amazonensis. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.