RESUMO
ABSTRACT Passiflora caerulea L., P. alata Curtis and P. incarnata L. (synonym for P. edulis Sims), are the most popular representatives of the Passiflora genus in South America. In recent years, a growing attention is paid to the biological activity and phytochemical profiles of crude extracts from various species of Passiflora in worldwide. The aim of this study was to evaluate and to compare of anti-leukemic activity of the dry crude extracts from leaves of three Passiflora species from greenhouse of Poland in two human acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell lines: CCRF-CEM and its multidrug resistant variant. Two systems of liquid chromatography in order to assessment of phytochemical composition of extracts were applied. Extracts of P. alata and P. incarnata showed the potent inhibitory activity against human acute lymphoblastic leukemia CCRF-CEM, while P. caerulea not showed activity (or activity was poor). Despite similarities in quality phytochemical profile of extracts from P. caerulea and P. incarnata, differences in quantity of chemical compounds may determine their various pharmacological potency. For the activity of P. alata extract the highest content of terpenoids and a lack of flavones C-glycosides are believed to be crucial. Summarizing, the crude extract from P. alata leaves may be considered as a substance for complementary therapy for cancer patients.
RESUMO
The search for functional foods, which possess bioactive substances, is a new trend for the obtention of alternative and more effective treatments of many diseases with fewer side effects. Geopropolis, elaborated by stingless bees, is a mixture of plant resin sources, wax and soil. In the geopropolis from Scaptotrigona affinis postica (Latreille, 1807), (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini) was not observed the presence of soil. In a previous study, the extract of geopropolis provided by the beekeeper, from S. postica of Barra do Corda, Maranhão State, exhibited potent antiviral activity against herpes simplex virus. In this study, the propolis extract was prepared experimentally and characterized by RP-HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS. The objective of this study was to evaluate the antiviral activity of an experimentally prepared geopropolis extract from S. postica against Rubella Virus infected Statens Serum Institute Rabbit Cornea (SIRC) cells. Rubella virus infection of susceptible women during the first trimester of pregnancy, often results in a combination of birth defects in newborns. There is not an effective treatment for rubella virus infection. Different protocols were carried out to evaluate, the antiviral effect of geopropolis extract on the viral replication of infectious RV. Cell viability and cell proliferation assays indicated that this geopropolis was not toxic to cultured SIRC cells. In the viral binding assay, antiviral assay, real-time PCR, and transmission electron microscopy, was observed that different concentrations of geopropolis (17, 34 and 68 µg/mL) was able to inhibit the binding of virions to the cell receptor and the production of infectious RV particles in post treated and pre treated infected SIRC cells. The antiviral activity could to be attributed to the high contents of the apigenin derivatives, vicenin-2 and schaftoside. As far as we know, this is the first report about the antiviral activity of geopropolis from Scaptotrigona postica against a Togaviridae virus.