Antileishmanial activity of the methanol extract of Cedrela odorata: growth inhibition and mortality of Leishmania spp

Abstract

Across the planet, woody species of the Meliaceae family have suffered a significant reduction over the  centuries due to factors such as deforestation, fires and logging, and are currently at risk of extinction.  This scenario has made phytochemical studies of its wood scarcer, even though knowledge of the  chemical profile and biological potential of its compounds are essential in order to increase its scientific  value. Thus, wood residues provide a new possibility to continue these studies. For this study, wood  residues of Cedrela odorata L. (pink cedar) were used from window frames that were obtained from  after the demolition of a forty-five-year-old building at the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da  Amazônia (INPA). The chromatographic fractionation process of the methanol extract resulted in the  isolation of two limonoids: gedunin and mexicanolid. However, only the mexicanolid and the  methanolic extract were tested against the species Leishmania amazonensis and guyanensis, though  both compounds demonstrated antileishmanial activity, with the IC50 being between 50-100 μg mL-1for  the promastigote form of L. amazonensis and between 10-50 μg mL-1against the species L. guyanensis (in vitro).