ANTIPROTOZOAL ACTIVITY OF QUINOLINE ALKALOIDS ISOLATED FROM GALIPEA-LONGIFLORA, A BOLIVIAN PLANT USED AS A TREATMENT FOR CUTANEOUS LEISHMANIASIS

The stem bark of Galipea longiflora is used by the Chimane Indians in Bolivia for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis produced by Leish mania braziliensis. Petroleum ether and chloroform extracts of stem, r oot bark and leaves were found active in vitro against Leishmania ssp and Trypanosoma cruzi at 100 mu g/mL. The activity guided fractionatio n of the extracts by chromatography afforded 12 active compounds ident ified as 2-substituted quinoline alkaloids. BALB/c mice were infected with Leishmania amazonensis (strain PH8 or H-142) and treated 24 h aft er infection with the major alkaloids from the crude alkaloidal extrac t; 2-phenylquinoline and 2-n-pentylquinoline. 2-phenylquinoline was as potent as Glucantime (Rhone-Poulenc) against the strain H-142, but le ss active than the reference drug against the virulent strain PH8 of L . amazonensis. 2-n-pentylquinoline did not exhibit any activity. Assay s of single local treatments on the rear footpad infection, 2 weeks af ter the parasitic inoculation, indicated an effect for 2-phenylquinoli ne by reducing the severity of lesion. However, this activity was foun d to be slightly lower than that obtained using Glucantime.