EFFECTS OF Prosopis strombulifera (LAM.) BENTH AQUEOUS EXTRACT IN AN IN VIVO MODEL OF CUTANEOUS LEISHMANIASIS

GERMANÓ, MJ; TRONCOSO M.; GARCÍA BUSTOS, MARÍA FERNANDA; GAMARRA LUQUES, C; CARGNELUTTI, DE.; LOZANO, E.

Mendoza

Congreso; IV JOINT MEETING OF THE BIOLOGY SOCIETIES OF ARGENTINA; 2020

The leishmaniasis are a spectrum of diseases caused by infection with protozoal pathogens of the genus Leishmania, with an estimated 2 million new cases per year. Leishmania parasites are transmitted to a mammalian host through the bite of an infected sandfly. The clinical forms of the disease (cutaneous, mucocutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis) depend on the Leishmania species involved. In Argentina, it affects the northern region of the country with an incidence that has increased in the last two decades. Current treatments for leishmaniasis are unsatisfactory due to the associated high toxicity, cost, complex administration, and the emergence of resistant strains. Efforts have increased considerably in the last decade to identify new compounds with anti-leishmanial properties. Therefore, a strategy in the search for new compounds is the detection of purified molecules from plant sources. There are more than five hundred species of plants in the province of Mendoza, in the central west of Argentina, for which "folk medicine" has described various uses to preserve and help health. Prosopis strombulifera (Ps) has been used as an astringent, anti-inflammatory, and antidiarrheal agent. Recent studies have confirmed its biological activities against different microorganisms. The aqueous extract (AE) has been shown to be non-toxic in experimental animals. We evaluated the effect of PsAE in an in vivo model of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Male BALB/c mice were infected in the right hind paw pad with 1×105 L. amazonensis promastigotes and treated with PsAE 150 mg/animal/day administered orally inthe drinking water, ad libitum. We observed that the treatment with the aqueous extract diminishes the swelling of the infection site compared to the mice treated with Glucantime, which was used as a positive treatment control. This is related to the significant decrease in parasite load, splenicindex, and observed IgG levels. Although many more tests need to be done, PsAE may be effective in treating cutaneous leishmaniasis.