and oleanolic acid (24) were capable of controlling the peak of parasitemia in infected mice
and, interestingly, treated mice did not show any alterations in their biochemical parameters,
reinforcing the idea that these triterpenes are not toxic for animals. Considering the low or
absent level of toxicity of triterpenes for mice, as well as their high trypanocidal activity, these
results suggest that both compounds can be used for the development of new drugs against
T. cruzi [ 21 ].
The sesquiterpene caryophyllene (25) and the phenylpropanoid eugenol (26) can be found in
nature on many essential oils (Figure 9 ). Both were tested in vitro in their pure form against
antiepimastigote and antipromastigote forms of parasites L. brasiliensis and T. cruzi [ 23 ].
The authors also tested the substances caryophyllene (25) and eugenol (26) regarding their
cytotoxicity.Figure 9. Structures of active compounds: caryophyllene (25) and eugenol (26).
Figure 8. Active terpenoids (20, 21, and 22) and triterpenes (23 and 24) isolated from plants.Can the Cure for Chagas’ Disease be Found in Nature?
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/67225105