Avaliação das atividades citotóxica, antifúngica e do potencial de segurança in vivo de ar-turmerona (Curcuma longa L.) GUARAPUAVA 2013

Abstract

The rhizome of Curcuma longa L. popularly known as Saffron-of-India and marketed as food condiment has a wide range of biological actions, characterized by the prominent presence of curcumin and compounds of essential oil. The constituents of these oils are sesquiterpene alcohols and ketones, including ar-turmerone. The objective of this study was to investigate the cytotoxicity on tumor cell lines, like HEp-2, HRT-18 and HeLa and their morphology in the presence of ar-turmerone, to evaluate the activity of ar-turmerone on fungal species, such as Candida spp. and Crytococcus neoformans, and to investigate the safety after ar-turmerone oral administration for 14 days in Swiss mice. The cytotoxic activity of ar-turmerone resulted in inhibitory concentration 50% of: 28 and 33 μg.mL-1 for HEp-2 cells, 52 and 20 μg.mL-1 for HRT-18 cells and 22 and 20 μg.mL-1 for HeLa cells at 24h and 48h incubation, respectively. The morphological analysis showed the cell rounding, condensation of chromatin and formation of blebs characteristics of activation of apoptotic cell death. The assay demonstrated the antifungal activity of ar-turmerone on strains of Candida spp. with minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) from 62 to 184 μg.mL-1 (C. utilis and C. krusei, respectively) and 737 μg.mL-1 for C. neoformans. In the lower concentration of ar-turmerone (1 μg.mL-1) strains of C. tropicalis, C. krusei ATCC 6258 and C. albicans ATCC 14053 were inhibited in 30, 34 and 42% of CFU, in this order. Biochemical and histophatological analysis revealed the safety of using ar-turmerone for 14 days by oral gavage due to not finding changes in biochemical tests and histophatological. We conclude that ar-turmerone represents a compound with effective potential cytotoxic on tumor and fungal cells, without risk to their use.