THE IN VIVO EFFECT OF NATURAL COMPOUNDS ON LEISHMANIA (L.) AMAZONENSIS

LOZANO ES; GERMANÓ MS; TRONCOSO ME; CIFUENTES D; GAMARRA LUQUE C; CARGNELUTTI DE

San Luis

Congreso; XXXVII Reunión Científica Anual de la Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo; 2019

Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo

The leishmaniasis is a spectrum of diseases caused by infection with protozoan pathogens of the Leishmania genus, with an estimated 2 million new cases per annum. Leishmania parasites are transmitted to a mammalian host via the bite of an infected sand fly. The clinical forms of the disease (cutaneous, mucocutaneous, and visceral leishmaniasis) depend on the speciesof Leishmania involved. In Argentina, affects the northern region of the country with an incidence that has increased over the last two decades. Current treatments for leishmaniasis are unsatisfactory due to high associated toxicity, cost, complex administration, and the emergence of resistant strains. Efforts have greatly increased over the last decade to identify novel compounds with antileishmanial properties. Thus, one strategy in the search for new compounds is the screening of molecules purified from plant sources. Terpenes appear as good candidates because they are abundant in the plant kingdom, and some of them have shown significant activity against trypanosomatids. The terpenes 5-epi-icetexone (ICTX) and Abietane (HABTO), isolated from Salvia gilliessi, are effective against T. cruzi and Leishmania spp. in vitro. We evaluated the effect of ICTX and HABTO in an in vivo model of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Male BALB/c mice were infected in the right footpad with 1x105 promastigotes of L. (L.) amazonensis and locally treated, once a week for 4 weeks, with 1 mg/animal/day of ICTX or HABTO. We observed that the treatment with the compounds decreases footpad swelling compared to the controls. This is related to the significant decrease in parasite load, splenic index, and IgG levels observed with every treatment. Although many more analyses should be made, these natural compounds could be effective to treat cutaneous leishmaniasis.