Evaluation of the In Vitro Anti-Trypanosoma cruzi Activity of Specialized Metabolites Isolated from the Branches of Piper truncatum Vell. (Piperaceae).
Chagas disease is an illness caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, with a high mortality rate in Latin America. Despite being a significant public health problem, current treatments show low efficacy, adverse side effects, and parasite resistance, making disease control difficult. The genus Piper has stood out in scientific studies due to its production of several specialized metabolites with potent antiparasitic activity, representing a promising source for the discovery of new biomolecules with therapeutic potential. In this context, the search for more effective therapeutic alternatives with fewer adverse effects has intensified, and studies involving natural products have shown promising results.Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the specialized metabolites present in the methanolic extract of the branches of the species Piper truncatum Vell. Using chromatographic techniques, it was possible to isolate the compounds aristolactam BII (1), piperolactam A (2), aristolactam AII (3), cepharadione A (4), norcepharadione B (5), noraristolodione (6), (-)-hinokinin (7), cubebin (8), and (-)-dihydrocubebin (9), with compounds 2, 3, 4, 5, and 9 being reported for the first time in this species. The compounds were characterized by spectroscopic and spectrometric techniques, allowing the precise identification of their structures.In addition, the antiparasitic activity of the isolated compounds will be evaluated in vitro against both extracellular and intracellular forms of T. cruzi (Y strain). Cytotoxicity assays will also be carried out in THP-1 cells in order to calculate the selectivity index based on the 50% cytotoxic concentration (CC50) and the 50% effective concentration (EC50) values against the parasite. Thus, this study will provide fundamental data for the development of new antiparasitic drugs, contributing to the fight against Chagas disease.