Trypanosoma brucei Inhibition by Essential Oils from Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Traditionally Used in Cameroon (Azadirachta indica, Aframomum melegueta, Aframomum daniellii, Clausena anisata, Dichrostachys cinerea and Echinops giganteus)

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health 2017-07, Vol.14 (7), p.737
• Main Authors: Kamte, Stephane L Ngahang, Ranjbarian, Farahnaz, Campagnaro, Gustavo Daniel, Nya, Prosper C Biapa, Mbuntcha, Hélène, Woguem, Verlaine, Womeni, Hilaire Macaire, Ta, Léon Azefack, Giordani, Cristiano, Barboni, Luciano, Benelli, Giovanni, Cappellacci, Loredana, Hofer, Anders, Petrelli, Riccardo, Maggi, Filippo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: African trypanosomiases; Animals; aromatic and medicinal plants; BALB 3T3 Cells; Biochemistry; Cameroon; Drugs; essential oils; Herbal medicine; Humans; Infections; Investigations; Laboratories; Magnoliopsida; Mice; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Monoterpenes - analysis; Oils & fats; Oils, Volatile - chemistry; Oils, Volatile - pharmacology; Parasites; Parasitic diseases; Plants, Medicinal; Science; Seeds; Sesquiterpenes - analysis; Skin diseases; Trees; Tropical diseases; Trypanosma brucei; Trypanosoma brucei brucei - drug effects; Trypanosoma brucei brucei - growth & development
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph14070737

Essential oils are complex mixtures of volatile components produced by the plant secondary metabolism and consist mainly of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes and, to a minor extent, of aromatic and aliphatic compounds. They are exploited in several fields such as perfumery, food, pharmaceutics, and cosmetics. Essential oils have long-standing uses in the treatment of infectious diseases and parasitosis in humans and animals. In this regard, their therapeutic potential against human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) has not been fully explored. In the present work, we have selected six medicinal and aromatic plants ( , , , , , and ) traditionally used in Cameroon to treat several disorders, including infections and parasitic diseases, and evaluated the activity of their essential oils against TC221. Their selectivity was also determined with Balb/3T3 (mouse embryonic fibroblast cell line) cells as a reference. The results showed that the essential oils from , , and were the most active ones, with half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC ) values of 15.21, 7.65, and 10.50 µg/mL, respectively. These essential oils were characterized by different chemical compounds such as sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, monoterpene hydrocarbons, and oxygenated sesquiterpenes. Some of their main components were assayed as well on TC221, and their effects were linked to those of essential oils.