Trypanocidal effect of alcoholic extract of Castanedia santamartensis (Asteraceae) leaves is based on altered mitochondrial function.

The deficit of effective treatments for Chagas disease has led to searching for new substances with therapeutic potential. Natural products possess a wide variety of chemical structural motifs and are thus a valuable source of diverse lead compounds for the development of new drugs. Castanedia santamartensis is endemic to Colombia, and local indigenous communities often use it to treat skin sores from leishmaniasis; however, its mechanism of action against the infective form of Trypanosoma cruzi has not been determined. Thus, we performed chemical and biological studies of two alcoholic leaf extracts of C. santamartensis to identify their active fractions and relate them to a trypanocidal effect and evaluate their mechanism of action. Alcoholic extracts were obtained through cold maceration at room temperature and fractionated using classical column chromatography. Both ethanolic and methanolic extracts displayed activity against T. cruzi. Chemical studies revealed that kaurenoic acid was the major component...