Sixteen methanolic extracts obtained from thirteen plant species, selected either from ethnobotanical or chemotaxonomical data, were screened for their antileishmanial activity against
Leishmaniasis is distributed worldwide, especially in tropical and subtropical areas and more than 12 million people are currently infected. About 20 000 to 30 000 deaths occur annually. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is the most common form of leishmaniasis and causes skin lesions, mainly ulcers. About 95% of CL cases occur in the Americas, the Mediterranean basin, the Middle East, and Central Asia. Over two-thirds of new CL cases occur in 6 countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Brazil, Colombia, Iran, and Syria. An estimated 0.7 million to 1.3 million new cases occur worldwide annually [
In Saudi Arabia, the disease was first described in 1973 by Morsy and Shoura [
The plant material was collected in March-April 2014 from different locations in Albahah town and outskirts of Albaha, except myrrh oleo gum resins that were purchased from the herbal shops under the name (Somali Myrrha) (Table
Selected plants studied, ethnobotanical information and characteristics.
Species | Plant family (voucher specimen no) | Part testeda (yield in %) | Local name | Traditional uses |
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Asteraceae (CP-101) | Fl (1.5) | Thafra | Antispasmodic and for1 kidney inflammation |
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(CP-101) | L (2.6) | Thafra | As antispasmodic and for kidney inflammation |
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Asclepiadaceae (CP-091) | L (4.2) | Alashur | For treating leprosy and filariasis |
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Amaranthaceae (CP-081) | F (7.3) | Jkheara | Leishmaniasis1 |
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Burseraceae (CP-071) | Resin (70) | Somali mir | Gum used for treating leishmaniasis2 |
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Sapindaceae (CP-061) | L (3.5) | Shath | For treating chronic ulcer, burns, leishmaniasis2 |
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Euphorbiaceae (CP-051) | AP (4.2) | Al-dehin | Antiseptic |
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Lamiaceae (CP-041) | AP (2.9) | Al-shiah | As antispasmodic, antiseptic when the leaves chewed1 |
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Asteraceae (CP-102) | AP (3.1) | Arararabi | Antimalarial, stomach disorders2 |
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Punicaceae (CP-011) | Fl (2.5) | Al-roman | Anthelmintic, antiseptic2 |
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Rutaceae (CP-121) | L (5.2) | Al-shathab | Antimicrobial2 |
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Solanaceae (CP-131) | F (7.6) | Al-hadak | Antiseptic2 |
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Solanaceae (CP-132) | L (3.9) | Al-hadak | Leaves as dressing for healing wounds, paste of fruits for treating leishmaniasis2 |
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Asteraceae (CP-021) | L (3.7) | Safeara | Wounds, skin diseases2 |
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Solanaceae (CP-011) | F (4.6) | Alobeb | Chronic dermatitis2 |
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Solanaceae (CP-011) | L (8.5) | Alobeb |
Air-dried and powdered plant material (10 g) was extracted under shaking at room temperature with MeOH (4 × 100 mL). The obtained extracts were filtered and evaporated to dryness
Strain MHOM/77BR/LTB0016 of
Fifty microliters of Schneider’s medium with HFBS and antibiotics was distributed in each well of a 96-well plate. In the first one, additional 48
The cytotoxic median concentration (CC50) of the extracts was also determined on normal peritoneal macrophages from normal BALB/c mice [
Then, the selectivity index (SI) ratio was obtained from calculation: CC50 for macrophage/IC50 for promastigotes [
The peritoneal macrophages were obtained as previously described and plated at 106/mL in 24-Well Lab-Tek (Costar, USA). Nonadherent cells were removed by washing after incubation of 2 hours at 37°C in 5% CO2. Macrophages were then infected with stationary-phase of
Sixteen methanolic extracts of thirteen plant species belonging to ten families gathered from Albaha region were investigated for their
Activity and cytotoxicity of plant extracts against
Species (part testeda) |
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SIe |
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>200 | — | — | — |
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>200 | — | — | — |
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>200 | — | — | — |
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17.5 ± 0.01 | 49.8 ± 2.0 | 3 | — |
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>200 | — | — | — |
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>200 | — | — | — |
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23.5 ± 2.5 | 79.0 ± 7.3 | 3 | — |
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>200 | — | — | — |
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>200 | — | — | — |
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37.8 ± 2.7 | 174.6 ± 6.9 | 5 | 24.4 ± 3.0 |
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18.0 ± 2.8 | 149.2 ± 3.8 | 8 | 31.0 ± 3.8 |
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>200 | — | — | — |
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29.5 ± 1.0 | 84.9 ± 4.7 | 3 | — |
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20.3 ± 6.8 | <12.5 | 0 | — |
bIC50: Concentration of extract causing 50% growth inhibition.
cSD: Standard deviation.
dCC50: Concentration of extract causing 50% of mortality of peritoneal macrophage from BALB/c.
eSI: Selectivity index. —: Not done.
Phytochemical studies of the genus
However,
Interestingly, antileishmanial activity was observed for
In our study,
In conclusion, the evaluation of antileishmanial activity of 16 extracts from 13 plants of Albaha region against
The authors declare no conflict of interests.