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Melaleuca alternifolia formulations in the treatment of experimental pythiosis

  • Veterinary Microbiology - Research Paper
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Abstract

Essential oils (EO) are aromatic compounds from the plant secondary metabolism. Melaleuca alternifolia EO is well known for its medicinal properties and promising use as an antimicrobial agent. Pythiosis is a difficult-to-treat and emerging disease caused by the oomycete Pythium insidiosum. This study evaluated a nanoemulsion formulation of M. alternifolia (NEMA) in topical and intralesional application to treat experimental pythiosis. Dermal toxicity tests were performed on M. alternifolia EO in Wistar rats. Pythiosis was reproduced in rabbits (n = 9) that were divided into groups: group 1 (control), cutaneous lesions with daily topical application of a non-ionizable gel-based formulation and intralesional application of sterile distilled water every 48 h; group 2 (topical formulation), lesions treated daily with topical application of a non-ionizable gel-based formulation containing 5 mg/ml of NEMA; and group 3 (intralesional formulation), lesions treated with NEMA at 5 mg/ml in aqueous solution applied intralesionally/48 h. The animals were treated for 45 days, and the subcutaneous lesion areas were measured every 5 days. M. alternifolia EO showed no dermal toxicity. The lesion areas treated with intralesional NEMA reduced at the end of treatment, differing from groups 1 and 2 (P < 0.05). In the topically treated group, the lesion areas did not differ from the control group, although the number of hyphae significantly reduced (P < 0.05). Under the experimental conditions of this study, the NEMA formulations presented a favorable safety profile. However, further studies are required to evaluate if this safety applies to higher concentrations of NEMA and to validate its use in clinical pythiosis.

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Funding

This research was supported by Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – CAPES - Finance Code 001) and National Council for Scientific and Technological Development – CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico) for student and researcher scholarships.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós Graduação em Microbiologia e Parasitologia, Laboratório de Micologia, Departamento de Microbiologia e Parasitologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Prédio 18, Sala 14. Campus Universitário Capão do Leão, s/n◦, Pelotas, RS, CEP: 96160-000, Brazil

    Júlia de Souza Silveira, Carolina Litchina Brasil, Caroline Quintana Braga, Ândrios da Silva Moreira, Cristina Gomes Zambrano & Daniela Isabel Brayer Pereira

  2. Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil

    Helen Cabaldi Franz, Lara Colles Araujo & Cristiane de Bona da Silva

  3. Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Pelotas, RS, Brazil

    Rosimeri Zamboni, Eliza Simone Sallis & Ana Paula Albano

  4. Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva, Centro de Ciências Rurais, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil

    Luciana Pötter & Sônia de Avila Botton

Authors
  1. Júlia de Souza Silveira
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  2. Carolina Litchina Brasil
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  3. Caroline Quintana Braga
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  4. Ândrios da Silva Moreira
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  7. Eliza Simone Sallis
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  8. Ana Paula Albano
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  10. Lara Colles Araujo
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  11. Cristiane de Bona da Silva
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  12. Luciana Pötter
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  14. Daniela Isabel Brayer Pereira
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Contributions

Silveira JS, Pereira DIB, and Botton SA conceived the idea, performed the experiment, collected and interpreted data, and wrote the manuscript. Silveira JS, Brasil CL, Braga CQ, Moreira AS, Albano AP, and Zambrano CG performed the animal experiment. Zamboni R and Sallis ES performed necropsy and histopathological analysis. Franz HC performed hematological and biochemical analysis. Silva CB and Araujo LC produced Melaleuca alternifolia nanoemulsion. Pötter L. performed the statistical analysis, interpreted data, and wrote the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daniela Isabel Brayer Pereira.

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All applicable institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed (Ethics Committee of Federal University of Pelotas – CEEA - n° 23110.002723/2016-77).

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Responsible Editor: Luiz Henrique Rosa

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de Souza Silveira, J., Brasil, C.L., Braga, C.Q. et al. Melaleuca alternifolia formulations in the treatment of experimental pythiosis. Braz J Microbiol 53, 1011–1017 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42770-022-00720-6

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