Antiplasmodial and anti-inflammatory effects of an antimalarial remedy from the Wayana Amerindians, French Guiana: Takamalaimë (Psidium acutangulum Mart. ex DC., Myrtaceae) Emeline Houël a,n , Marie Fleury b , Guillaume Odonne c , Flore Nardella d,e , Geneviève Bourdy f,g , Catherine Vonthron-Sénécheau d , Pascal Villa h , Adeline Obrecht h , Véronique Eparvier i , Eric Deharo f,g , Didier Stien i,j,nn a CNRS – UMR Ecologie des Forêts de Guyane (EcoFoG), Institut Pasteur de la Guyane, 23 Avenue Pasteur, BP6010, 97306 Cayenne Cedex, French Guiana b Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, UMR 208 PALoc, MNHN-IRD, BP 165, 97323 Cayenne Cedex, French Guiana c CNRS-Guyane – USR 3456, 2 avenue Gustave Charlery, 97300 Cayenne, French Guiana d Laboratoire d’Innovation Thérapeutique UMR CNRS 7200, LabEx Medalis, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université de Strasbourg, 74 route du Rhin, 67401 Illkirch Cedex, France e Institut de Parasitologie et de Pathologie Tropicale de Strasbourg (IPPTS) – Faculté de Médecine, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France f Université de Toulouse, UMR 152 PharmaDEV, Faculté de Pharmacie, 35 Chemin des Maraîchers, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 9, France g Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR 152 PharmaDEV, Faculté de Pharmacie, 35 Chemin des Maraîchers, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 9, France h Plate-forme de Chimie Biologique Intégrative de Strasbourg UMS 3286 CNRS-Université de Strasbourg, LabEx Medalis et FMTS, ESBS Pôle API, Bld Sébastien Brant, 67412 Illkirch Cedex, France i CNRS – Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturelles,1 Avenue de la Terrasse, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France j Sorbonne Université s, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, Laboratoire de Biodiversité et Biotechnologies Microbiennes (LBBM), Observatoire Océ anologique, 66650 Banyuls-sur-mer, France article info Article history: Received 13 November 2014 Received in revised form 10 February 2015 Accepted 8 March 2015 Available online 16 March 2015 Keywords: Psidium acutangulum Plasmodium Cytokines Antimalarial French Guiana Traditional medicine abstract Ethnopharmacological relevance: Field investigations highlighted the use of Psidium acutangulum Mart. ex DC (syn. P. persoonii McVaugh), a small tree used by the Wayana Amerindians in Twenke–Taluhwen and Antecume–Pata, French Guiana, for the treatment of malaria, and administered either orally in the form of a decoction or applied externally over the whole body. This use appears limited to the Wayana cultural group in French Guiana and has never been reported anywhere else. Our goal was to evaluate the antimalarial and anti-inflammatory activities of a P. acutangulum decoction to explain the good reputation of this remedy. Materials and methods: Interviews with the Wayana inhabitants of Twenke–Taluhwen and Antecume– Pata were conducted within the TRAMAZ project according to the TRAMIL methodology, which is based on a quantitative and qualitative analysis of medicinal plant uses. A decoction of dried aerial parts of P. acutangulum was prepared in consistency with the Wayana recipe. In vitro antiplasmodial assays were performed on chloroquine-resistant FcB1 ([ 3 H]-hypoxanthine bioassay) and 7G8 (pLDH bioassay) P. falciparum strains and on chloroquine sensitive NF54 ([ 3 H]-hypoxanthine bioassay) P. falciparum strain. In vitro anti-inflammatory activity (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, TNFα) was evaluated on LPS-stimulated human PBMC and NO secretion inhibition was measured on LPS stimulated RAW murine macrophages. Cytotoxicity of the decoction was measured on L6 mammalian cells, PBMCs, and RAW cells. A preliminary evaluation of the in vivo antimalarial activity of the decoction, administered orally twice daily, was assessed by the classical four-day suppressive test against P. berghei NK65 in mice. Results: The decoction displayed a good antiplasmodial activity in vitro against the three tested strains, regardless to the bioassay used, with IC 50 values of 3.3 mg/mL and 10.3 mg/mL against P. falciparum FcB1 and NF54, respectively and 19.0 mg/mL against P. falciparum 7G8. It also exhibited significant anti- inflammatory activity in vitro in a dose dependent manner. At a concentration of 50 mg/mL, the decoction Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jep Journal of Ethnopharmacology http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2015.03.015 0378-8741/& 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. n Corresponding author. Tel.: þ594 594 29 31 34; fax: þ594 594 30 94 16. nn Corresponding author at: Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, Laboratoire de Biodiversité et Biotechnologies Microbiennes (LBBM), Observatoire Océanologique, 66650 Banyuls-sur-mer, France. Tel.: þ33 4 30 19 24 76. E-mail addresses: emeline.houel@ecofog.gf (E. Houël), didier.stien@cnrs.fr (D. Stien). Journal of Ethnopharmacology 166 (2015) 279–285