Evaluation of Chemical Composition and Antileishmanial and Antituberculosis Activities of Essential Oils of Piper Species

• Main Authors: Karine Zanoli Bernuci, Camila Cristina Iwanaga, Carla Maria Mariano Fernandez-Andrade, Fabiana Brusco Lorenzetti, Eduardo Caio Torres-Santos, Viviane dos Santos Faiões, José Eduardo Gonçalves, Wanderlei do Amaral, Cícero Deschamps, Regiane Bertin de Lima Scodro, Rosilene Fressatti Cardoso, Vanessa Pietrowski Baldin, Diógenes Aparício Garcia Cortez
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2016-12-01
• Series: Molecules
• Subjects: Piperaceae; GC–MS; essential oil; Leishmania amazonensis; Mycobacterium tuberculosis
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/21/12/1698

Essential oils from fresh Piperaceae leaves were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC–MS), and a total of 68 components were identified. Principal components analysis results showed a chemical variability between species, with sesquiterpene compounds predominating in the majority of species analyzed. The composition of the essential oil of Piper mosenii was described for the first time. The cytotoxicity of the essential oils was evaluated in peritoneal macrophages and the oils of P. rivinoides, P. arboretum, and P. aduncum exhibited the highest values, with cytotoxic concentration at 50% (CC50) > 200 µg/mL. Both P. diospyrifolium and P. aduncum displayed activity against Leishmania amazonensis, and were more selective for the parasite than for the macrophages, with a selectivity index (SI) of 2.35 and >5.52, respectively. These SI values were greater than the 1 for the standard drug pentamidine. The antileishmanial activity of the essential oils of P. diospyrifolium and P. aduncum was described for the first time. P. rivinoides, P. cernuum, and P. diospyrifolium displayed moderate activity against the Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv bacillus, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 125 µg/mL. These results are relevant and suggests their potential for therapeutic purposes. Nevertheless, further studies are required to explain the exact mechanism of action of these essential oils.