Planta Med 2010; 76 - P478
DOI: 10.1055/s-0030-1264776

In vivo study of effect of copaiba oil obtained from Copaifera martii, on lesions caused by Leishmania amazonensis

A Santos 1, M Costa 1, M Lima 1, T Ueda-Nakamura 1, B Dias Filho 1, V Veiga-Jr 2, C Nakamura 3
  • 1Universidade Estadual de Maringa, Ciencias Basicas da Saude, Av. Colombo 5790, 87020–900 Maringa, Brazil
  • 2Universidade Federal do Amazonas, de Quimica, Av. Gal. Rodrigo Octávio Jordão Ramos 3000, 69077–000 Manaus, Brazil
  • 3Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Av. Colombo 5790, Bloco B-08 Sala 06, 87020900 Maringá, Brazil

Leishmaniasis is still a severe public health problem, with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Unfortunately, the treatment for this infectious disease is essentially limited to pentavalent antimony (Sb), in use for 50 years [1]. A recent study by our research group showed that copaiba oils obtained from different species of Copaifera show in vitro activity against promastigote forms of Leishmania amazonensis [2]. In the present study, we demonstrated the in vivo activity of copaiba oil obtained from Copaifera martii in BALB/c mice infected with L. amazonensis. For the in vivo tests, Balb/c mice were infected subcutaneously with L. amazonensis (1×107 cells/ml) in the right hind footpad. The treatment was started on the 8th week post-infection. Mice were treated topically, orally, orally and topically, or subcutaneously. Treatment with Glucantime® was used as a positive control. The lesion size was measured with a caliper each week during one month of infection. The oral treatment caused a significant (p<0.05) reduction in the average lesion size (1.1±0.4mm) compared with untreated mice (4.4±1.3mm). However, topical (4.9±0.3mm) and subcutaneous (3.0±1.0mm) treatments showed no significant reduction in the average lesion size (p<0.05). Interestingly, copaiba oil may be a promising oral treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Acknowledgements: This study was supported through grants by CNPq, FINEP, PRONEX/Fund. Araucária

References: 1. Croft, S.L., Seifert, K., Yardley, V. (2006) Indian J Med Res 123:399–410.

2. Santos, A.O., Ueda-Nakamura, T., Dias-Filho, B.P., Veiga-Jr, V.F., Pinto, A.C., Nakamura, C.V. (2008)J Ethnopharmacol. 120:204–208.