Activity of the Essential Oil from <i>Chenopodium ambrosioides</i> Grown in Cuba against <i>Leishmania amazonensis</i>

Abstract

Background and Methods: Current therapy against leishmaniasis is unsatisfactory. Efficacious and safe new drugs are needed.In this study, we show the leishmanicidal effect of an essential oil from Chenopodiumambrosioides against Leishmania amazonensis. Results: The tested product had a potent inhibitory action against promastigote and amastigote forms, with 50% effective dose values of 3.7 and 4.6 µg/ml, respectively. The essential oil showed a moderate toxicity on macrophages from BALB/c mice. An optimal dose of 30 mg/kg/day was effective when administered during 15 days by intraperitoneal route to BALB/c mice infected experimentally. Conclusion: These studies revealed a potential source for the discovery of novel drugs to combat the leishmaniasis based on the traditional medicine.

Chemistry, cytotoxicity and antileishmanial activity of the essential oil from Piper auritum

“…Recently, several essential oils extracted from plants have shown antileishmanial activity: Croton cajucara (Rosa et al 2003), Ocimum gratissimum (UedaNakamura et al 2006), Copaifera cearensis (Santos et al 2008), Chenopodium ambrosioides (Monzote et al 2006), Cymbopogon citratus and Lippia sidoides (Oliveira et al 2009). These studies have demonstrated that essential oils can be a promising source of new antileishmanial drugs.…”

Ascaridole and Related Peroxides From the Genus Chenopodium

“…Ascaridole has been documented with sedative and pain-relieving properties as well as antifungal eff ects 20 . Ascaridole was found to be a potent inhibitor in vitro development of Plasmodium falciparum 21 , Trypanosoma cruzi 22 , and Leishmania amazonensis 23 . Ascaridole also showed activity against diff erent tumor cell lines in vitro (CCRF-CEM, HL60, MDA-MB-231).…”

In vitro effects of citral on Trypanosoma cruzi metacyclogenesis

“…More recently, studies have shown that essential oils may also be used as anti-protozoal drugs. Indeed, essential oils have inhibitory actions against diverse parasitic protozoa, such as Plasmodium falciparum (Valentin et al 1995), Trypanosoma brucei, Leishmania major (Mikus et al 2000), Leishmania amazonensis (Monzote et al 2006, Santin et al 2009 and T. cruzi (Santoro et al 2007a, b, c).…”