Ana Lucia Abreu-Silva

By Renata Mondêgo de Oliveira, Solange de Araújo Melo, Tatiane Aranha da Penha-Silva, Fernando Almeida-Souza and Ana Lucia Abreu-Silva

Leishmaniasis remains as one of the most important neglected diseases in the world and, after all these years, its treatment is still a problem, mainly because of the side effects caused by the first- and second-line drugs and the indiscriminate treatment, which leads to increasing cases of parasite resistance. The search for alternative therapies for the treatment of leishmaniasis is extremely important. In this context, the use of natural products arises as a promising alternative, combining the empirical knowledge disseminated in the population with researches that aim to scientifically prove the therapeutic effects of plants. Based on this, the use of medicinal plants is considered a desirable and accessible tool in the treatment of these diseases and considered by pharmacognosy as a valuable source for the development of new drugs and as adjuvant for conventional therapies.

Part of the book: Leishmaniases as Re-emerging Diseases

By Amanda Mara Teles, Adenilde Nascimento Mouchreck, Gustavo Oliveira Everton, Ana Lucia Abreu-Silva, Kátia da Silva Calabrese and Fernando Almeida-Souza

There are many food-borne pathogens in the wild and they are considered the cause of serious public health problems in both developed and developing countries. The use of natural products, such as antimicrobial compounds, has been increasing, in an attempt to control bacteria present in foods, mainly pathogens resistant to conventional antibiotics. This chapter is intended to provide the antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of essential oils of Cinnamomum zeylanicum (cinnamon), Origanum vulgare (oregano), Zingiber officinale (ginger), Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary), Citrus latifolia (tahiti lemon) and Curcuma longa (saffron) as well as to determinate its chemical composition. The oils had been extracted by hydrodistillation with a Clevenger type apparatus and the antimicrobial activity was performed against standard strains Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. The antioxidant activity was carried out using the ABTS [2,2-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)] method. The essential oils presented a mixture of mono- and sesquiterpenes. The best minimum inhibitory concentration was determined to C. zeylanicum against S. aureus. O. vulgare antioxidant activity presented inhibition of 90.74% and EC50 of 14 μg mL−1. These results demonstrate that the essential oils analyzed presented efficient antibacterial activity and antioxidant action being able to satisfy the demand of use as control of microorganisms in the food.

Part of the book: Essential Oils

By Amanda Mara Teles, Bianca Araújo dos Santos, Cleidiane Gomes Ferreira, Adenilde Nascimento Mouchreck, Kátia da Silva Calabrese, Ana Lucia Abreu-Silva and Fernando Almeida-Souza

Zingiber officinale Roscoe, commonly known as gengibre, ajengibre, jengibre dulce (Brazil, Argentina, and Spain), ginger (United States and England), and gingembre (France), is a perennial herbaceous plant that produces a fleshy and articulated rhizome, with rough brownish epidermis. As a medicinal plant, ginger is one of the oldest and most popular in the world. Several properties of the ginger have been verified in scientific experiments, with emphasis to the antimicrobial activity. Ginger essence oil has been investigated by several in vitro microbiological techniques, in which most of its essential oils presented antimicrobial activity against all selected bacteria. The antimicrobial effect is attributed mainly to several phytochemicals, such as camphene, phellandrene, zingiberene, and zingerone. This review provides an overview of the experimental evidence for the antimicrobial potential of Z. officinale.

Part of the book: Ginger Cultivation and Its Antimicrobial and Pharmacological Potentials

By Isadora de Fátima Braga Magalhães, Carla Junqueira Moraga Tellis, Kátia da Silva Calabrese, Ana Lucia Abreu-Silva and Fernando Almeida-Souza

Essential oils are widely used in the pharmaceutical industry for their antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal, antiparasitic, and insecticidal properties. Their anticancer activity has been increasingly explored as the natural constituents of essential oils play an important role in cancer prevention and treatment. The chemical composition of essential oils includes monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, oxygenated monoterpenes, phenolic sesquiterpenes, and others. Several mechanisms of action such as antioxidant, antimutagenic, antiproliferative, enhancement of immune functions, modulation of multidrug resistance, and synergistic mechanism of volatile constituents are responsible for their chemotherapeutic properties. This review focuses on the activity of essential oils and their chemical composition in regard to breast cancer.

Part of the book: Essential Oils

By Isadora de Fátima Braga Magalhães, Kátia da Silva Calabrese, Ana Letícia Marinho Figueirêdo, Ana Lucia Abreu-Silva and Fernando Almeida-Souza

The importance of a new anticancer drug for breast cancer is well established. Natural compounds that can prevent this disease or be used as an adjuvant treatment associated with conventional drugs could be the solution for this. This chapter is an overview of agents extracted from plants with outstand results in the last six years. Green tea, berberine, thymoquinone and cannabidiol are compounds isolated from medicinal plants. These agents showed action through induction of apoptosis, down regulation of inflammation, epigenetics, hormonal modulation, among other. In vitro effect against cancer cells, in vivo experiments mainly with murine model and clinical trials reassured their efficacy against breast cancer. A protective effect against recurrence cases and chemosensitization to standard drugs was also successful. The use of nanotechnology provided a optimize delivery of these therapeutical molecules. Taken together this information led us to acknowledgement that we do probably have the natural agents for a future adjuvant treatment against breast cancer.

Part of the book: Breast Cancer

By Sandra Alves de Araújo, Tatiane Aranha da Penha-Silva, Jaqueline Diniz Pinho, Marcelo de Souza Andrade and Ana Lucia Abreu-Silva

Leishmaniasis is an infectious and parasitic disease of great importance in public health. Numerous studies indicate that biochemical and molecular mechanisms are factors that contribute to the emergence of antileishmanial drug resistance. Currently, miRNAs have been identified as targets for the invasion of pathogens to control the immune response and imply resistance to treatments. Considering the alarming growth in drug resistance, new possibilities for controlling leishmaniasis have been emerging. Natural compounds originating from medicinal plants are being increasingly explored as promising antileishmanial alternatives. The chapter aims to provide a brief review on mechanisms of action associated with traditional agents used to treat leishmaniasis, focusing mainly on molecular bases associated with the resistance of Leishmania spp. to current drugs and identifying the possible miRNAs involved in this process. In addition, we seek to describe some of the promising plant molecules that can be used as potential antileishmanial agents and their possible mechanisms of action.

Part of the book: Leishmaniasis