| Title | Antileishmanial activity in Israeli plants. | | Author(s) | El-On J, Ozer L, Gopas J, Sneir R, Enav H, Luft N, Davidov G, Golan-Goldhirsh A | | Institution | The Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel; Laboratory of Parasitology, Soroka University Medical Center, Beer Sheva 84101, Israel. | | Source | Ann Trop Med Parasitol 2009 Jun; 103(4):297-306. | | Abstract | Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease caused by flagellated protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania, which affects both humans and other mammals. Most of the available drugs against the disease are toxic and parasite resistance to some of the drugs has already developed. In the present study, the leishmanicidal activities of methanolic extracts of some Israeli plants have been evaluated in vitro, against the free-living promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes of Leishmania major. Of the 41 extracts examined, those of two plants (Nuphar lutea>Withania somnifera) were highly effective (with a maximum inhibitory effect of >50%), those of three other species (Pteris vittata>Smyrnium olusatrum>Trifolium clypeatum) were moderately effective (25%-50%) and another four extracts (Erodium malacoides>Hyparrhenia hirta>Thymelaea hirsuta>Pulicaria crispa) showed a marginal effect (15%-22%) against the parasites. Extracts of nine plant species therefore showed antileishmanial activity but only the extract of N. lutea, used at 1.25 mug/ml, eliminated all the intracellular parasites within 3 days of treatment, with no detectable toxicity to the host macrophages. The mean (S.D.) values recorded for the median inhibitory concentrations of this extract (IC(50)) against the promastigotes [2.0 (0.12) mug/ml] and amastigotes [0.65 (0.023) mug/ml] and the median lethal concentration (LD(50)) against macrophages [2.1 (0.096) mug/ml] were encouraging, giving a therapeutic selectivity index [LD(50)/IC(50) for amastigotes)] of 3.23. The extract of N. lutea was, in fact, generally as effective as the paromomycin that was used as the 'gold standard' drug. These results indicate that N. lutea and probably also Withania somnifera might be potential sources of clinically useful, antileishmanial compounds. | | Language | eng | | Pub Type(s) | Journal Article
| | PubMed ID | 19508747 |
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