Avaliação das atividades citotóxica, genotóxica e sobre a proliferação celular do óleo-resina de eperua oleifera (fabaceae)

Abstract

There is a growing demand of using plants from the Amazon to the development of drugs and cosmetics. The Eperua genus belongs to the family Fabaceae and consists of 14 species distributed from Central Amazonia. The oil-resin extracted from the trunk of Eperua has been used in popular medicine similarly to the copaiba oil as healing, antibacterial and antifungal. Very few studies have been conducted in order to test the biological activities of the oil-resin of these species. This study aimed to investigate the effects of the acid fraction of E.oleifera oil-resin on cell proliferation, collagen production in human fibroblasts, inhibition of metalloproteinases and cytotoxicity against malignant cell lines. It was evaluated the effects of the oil-resin on the morphology, proliferation and collagen production in fibroblast cells MRC-5 and FPH. There was a reduction of cell proliferation of fibroblast cells treated with the oil-resin at a concentration of 5 µg/mL. The induction of collagen production in fibroblasts was significant in the treatments performed above 2.5 µg/mL relative to untreated cells. Additionally, the cytotoxicity of the oil was evaluated on three lines and six neoplastic and three non-neoplastic cell line. The results showed significant cytotoxicity against all lines, with IC50 values between (13 - 50 µg/mL). The evaluation of the hemolytic potential of the oil-resin showed high toxicity in erythrocytes of Swiss mice Mus musculus, with IC50 = 38.29 µg/mL. According to the comet assay, the acid fraction of E. oleifera oil-resin induced genotoxicity in MRC-5 cells with DNA damage index between (40 - 60 %) when compared to the negative controls (0-20%). Inhibitory action of the oil-resin was observed in the concentration-dependent manner on collagenase activity, with IC50 = 46.64 µg/mL. The zymography assay testing the activity of MMP - 2 and MMP – 9 from HaCaT cells, showed little significant enzymatic inhibition, because of its not viable treatment in high concentrations. Results showed that the acid fraction of E. oleifera oil-resin showed cytotoxic, genotoxic and hemolytic effects, and collagenase inhibition. Taken together, our data suggests that E. oleifera could be considered as a source of new therapeutic drug, by isolating the active compounds and possibly decreasing the undesirable toxic side effects.