In vitro and in vivo activity of berberine on the blood trypomastigote fromTrypanosoma cruzi
Year: 2007
Type: article
Abstract: "Blood transfusion has been found to be an important mechanism in the transmission of the Chagas disease and there is a need for new agentsable to inhibit the infectiveness of Trypanosoma cruzi in stored blood. The methanolic extract of the root of Coptis chinensis and the alkaloidberberine has been previously identified as effective trypanicidal agents both in vitro and in vivo and could be promising prophylactic drugsto address this issue. The extract of C. chinensis and its main bioactive, berberine, resulted more active against Bra C15C2 cloneepimastigotes in axenic cultures than allopurinol, the antitrypanosomal drug of reference, with IC50 values of 1.7 µ/ml and 0.3 µg/ml (0.81µM), respectively. The in vitro anti-trypanosomal activities of the methanolic extract of roots of C. chinensis and its main bioactive,berberine, were tested using epimastigotes of the clon Bra C15C2. Berberine (250 µg/ml) and crystal violet were equally effective inpreventing transfusion-mediated infection of CF1 mice with the clon H510C8C3. However berberine (30 mg/kg/day, p.o.) for 30 days wasunable to enhance the survival of already infected animals. The mechanism of protection may encompass both diminished parasitaemia instored blood as well as inactivation of the infectiveness of the parasites, opening a new perspective in the fight against Trypanosomiasis."
Institution: Universitat de València
Language: English
Subfield: Epidemiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W1531665023