Antiparasitic activity and cytotoxic potential of the hydroethanolic extract the leaves of Tocoyena formosa

Chagas disease and leishmaniasis are considered severe public health problems and are part of the group of neglected tropical diseases. To find new therapeutic agents for these diseases, researchers evaluated the antiparasitic activity and cytotoxic potential of a hydroethanolic extract from the leaves of Tocoyena formosa (Cham. & Schlecht.) K. Schum (EHFTF). The antiparasitic evaluation of EHFTF was conducted at concentrations of 250, 500, and 1000 µg/mL in vitro, using CL-B5 clones (T. cruzi) and cultures of Leishmania spp. For the cytotoxicity test, fibroblasts were used. Statistical analysis was performed using the regression method. The results showed that EHFTF exhibited low toxicity at the maximum tested concentration of 1000 µg/mL. EHFTF demonstrated antiparasitic activity, particularly against species of Leishmania. Specifically, at a concentration of 1000 µg/mL, the extract inhibited 11.94% of the epimastigote form of T. cruzi, 71.52% of the promastigote form of L. infantum, and 35.04% of the promastigote form of L. braziliensis. At a concentration of 500 µg/mL, the extract inhibited 10.02% of the promastigote form of L. braziliensis, but did not show significant reduction against T. cruzi and L. infantum. The cytotoxicity test on fibroblasts revealed that EHFTF exhibited low toxicity even at the maximum concentration. In conclusion, EHFTF demonstrated antiparasitic activity against L. infantum and showed low cytotoxicity to fibroblasts.