MUTAGENICITY, INSECTICIDAL AND TRYPANOCIDAL ACTIVITY OF SOME PARAGUAYAN ASTERACEAE

The insecticidal, moulting inhibition and trypanocidal effects of crud e extracts of 7 Paraguayan Asteraceae were evaluated on Triatoma infes tans and bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma cruzi, respectively, Both mu tagenicity and toxicity were evaluated by sister chromatid exchange (S CE) in human peripheral lymphocyte culture and by the lethality test o f Artemia salina. The ethanolic extracts from Chromolaena christieana (stem and bark), Achyrocline satureoides (leaves and flowers) and Mika mia cordifolia (root and stem), at a concentration of 250 mu g/ml, sho wed the highest percentage of lysis on bloodstream forms of Trypanosom a cruzi. The extracts of Chromolaena christieana: and Achyrocline satu reoides also presented high mutagenic and toxic capacity when they wer e evaluated by the SCEs assay and Artemia salina test, respectively, I nsecticidal activity was only observed in the hexane extract of flower s of Achyrocline satureoides (45% of mortality), when 0.05 mu g of cru de concentration was applied on Triatoma infestans. The ethanolic extr acts of stem from Mikania cordifolia and Vernonia brasiliana inhibited the moulting of Triatoma infestans when it was compared with their co ntrols. Since no ethnobotanical information on these plants has been f ound related to similar use in Paraguay, our findings suggest, for the first time, the potential anti-trypanocidal and moulting inhibition o f these Asteraceae.