Herbal Drugs with Promising Anti-Leishmanial Activity: New Hope for Leishmaniasis Treatment

Abstract

Context: Leishmaniasis is one of the most common parasitic diseases. Many medicinal plants have been utilized for the treatment of leishmaniasis. Evidence Acquisition: Recent clinical trials have proven the efficacy of a number of herbal drugs. Synthetic agents and current drugs on the market have some disadvantages, such as side effects, high cost, and painful injections. Given the efficiency of herbal drugs, they can be a source of natural and harmless compounds for Leishmania treatment. Results: Several researches have shown a wide range of plant extract exhibiting remarkable anti-leishmanial activity in vitro and in vivo. Conclusions: Attempts for discovery of an effective strategy for leishmaniasis treatment with nominal side effects are being continued and herbal drugs are receiving much interest. More clinical studies should be done to investigate the efficacy and safety of herbal drugs for the production of effective and safe drugs for leishmaniasis treatment. This may also provide new hope for leishmaniasis treatment.

Sambucus ebulus extract stimulates cellular responses in cutaneous leishmaniasis

“…The usual and common treatment of leishmaniasis is the prescription of pentavalent antimony (antimonials) including Pentostam (sodium stibogluconate) or Glucantime (meglumine antimoniate) which have remained the first‐line chemical drugs against leishmaniasis globally . Another alternative first‐line treatment is antifungal drug amphotericin B (AMB) which is used in the case of resistance to the antimony treatment . Recently, new chemical therapeutic alternatives have been recommended for the treatment of leishmaniasis including lipid‐associated AMB, paromomycin, miltefosine, sitamaquine, azoles and itraconazole .…”