Chemical composition, in vitro larvicidal and antileishmanial activities of the essential oil from Citrus reticulata Blanco fruit peel

Numerous studies have investigated the chemical composition and biological activities of essential oils from different Citrus species fruit peel, leaves and flowers. This paper aims to investigate the chemical composition, larvicidal and antileishmanial activities of essential oil from Citrus reticulata fruit peel (CR-EO). CR-EO was obtained by hydrodistillation in a Clevenger-type apparatus and its chemical composition was analyzed by GC-MS and GC-FID. Limonene (85.7%), ɣ-terpinene (6.7%) and myrcene (2.1%) were identified as its major components. CR-EO showed high activity against promastigote forms of Leishmania amazonensis (IC50 = 8.23 µg/mL). CR-EO also exhibited high larvicidal activity against third instar Aedes aegypti larvae at a lethal concentration (LC50 = 58.35 µg/mL) and 100% mortality at 150 µg/mL. This study suggests, for the first time, the potential use of CR-EO against this important mosquito-borne viral disease caused by the genus Aedes.

Effect of Silica Based Nanoparticles against Plasmodium falciparum and Leishmania infantum parasites

Malaria and Leishmaniasis are two major parasitic diseases, endemic in large areas of tropical countries with high morbidity and mortality across the world. Nanoparticles in small sizes are specifically considered in medicine due to their ability to enter the cells, control the distribution of the administered drug and carry the drug specifically to the place of action. The present study aims to introduce the application of silica nanoparticles as new promising nanotools in malaria and leishmaniasis treatment. Ion doped silica nanomaterials revealed antileishmanial activities indicating the positive role of calcium, magnesium and copper to the surface of the particles against Leishmania parasites. Artemisinin-loaded nanoparticles presented the most promising antiparasitic properties with a sustained release able to overcome the parasite invasion. The sustainable release of artemisinin guarantee both the maintenance of its potential efficacy and also introduce an administration of drug to avoid subsequent drug resistance.

Antileishmanial Activity of Cassia fistula L., Morus nigra L. and Ziziphus jujuba Mill., Plant Extracts

Aim: To investigate the different antileishmanial activities of extracts of Cassia Fistula L., Morus Nigra L. and Ziziphus Jujuba Mill. Methodology: In this method, three (03) plants having concentrations between 500 – 2000 µg/mL were subjected to KWH23 strains of L. tropica in which Standard drug was Amphotericin B and have negative control for 24 – 48 hours. To check the in-vivo studies, plant extract was tested on BALB/c mice (Iqbal et al., 2016). Results: It showed that inhibition (mean) of KWH23 strains at 500, 1000, 1500, 2000 µg/mL after 48 hours were 92.1 ± 0.02, 95.00 ± 0.05, 97.09 ± 0.07 and 98.05 ± 0.05 % respectively. It decreased the lesion size (mean) from 0.8 ± 0.1 mm to 0.40 ± 0.2 mm having significance value p < 0.01 after 8th week, and cure at 200 mg/Kg against intracellular amastigotes in BALB/c mice was 90.00% (95% Cl = 80.05 – 97.00). Conclusion: The result shows that Ziziphus jujuba Mill. leaves possess significant antileishmanial activity.

Focus on Phytochemical Screening, Chemical Constituents, Pharmacological Effects and Medical Uses of Gummi myrrha

Gummi myrrha is the air-dried gum resin taken from the branches and stems of Commiphora molmol Engler (Burseraceae). The other names include myrrh, myrrhe, myrrha. Commiphora species are shrubs with 3 m high. It has rounded tops, thick trunks, dark brown bark, and large, sharply pointed thorns on the stem. It has many asymmetrical stunted and spiny. The leaves are unequal and alternate. The flowers are small, yellow-red fascicled, and arranged in terminal panicles. Gummi myrrha contains resins (25-40%), essential oil (3-8%), and a water-soluble gum (30-60%). The Gummi myrrha contains 20% proteins and 65% carbohydrates (galactose, 4-O-methylglucuronic acid, and arabinose). The major constituents of the Gummi myrrha essential oil are furanosesquiterpenes, and the monoterpenes α-, β- and γ-bisabolene. Gummi myrrha is used for mild inflammations treatment. It is used to treat aphthous ulcers, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, common cold, and gingivitis. Gummi myrrha is used as an emmenagogue, expectorant, and antidote for toxins and to stop blood coagulation. It treats menopausal symptoms, arthritic pain, diarrhea, fatigue, headache, jaundice, and indigestion. The pharmacology activity of Gummi myrrha includes experimental pharmacology and clinical pharmacology. Experimental pharmacology includes cardio-protective, analgesic, antipyretic, anticoagulant, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, cytoprotective, antimicrobial, and antileishmanial activities. Clinical pharmacology includes anti-obesity, antidiarrheal, and wound healing activities. The ointment of Gummi myrrha essential oil was non-irritating, non-sensitizing, and non-photo toxic to the human skin. The dose of myrrh tincture =1:5 g/ml, Gummi myrrha tincture applied to the affected area 2 or 3 times/ day; Gummi myrrha mouth solution= 5-10 drops of the tincture in a glass of water.

IN VITRO ANTILEISHMANIAL ACTIVITIES OF THREE MEDICINAL PLANTS: ARGEMONE MEXICANA, MURRAYA KOENIGII AND CINNAMOMUM TAMALA AGAINST MILTEFOSINE RESISTANT PROMASTIGOTES OF LEISHMANIA DONOVANI PARASITES

Objective: Leishmaniasis is one of the neglected tropical diseases in terms of drug development and discovery. Non-responsiveness and resistance to the drug in Leishmania species need to develop new antileishmanial potentials; herbal medicines could be the alternative one. Methods: In the present study, semi-purified fractions were prepared from the traditionally used three medicinal plants of India: Argemone mexicana (aerial shoot), Murraya koenigii (stem), and Cinnamomum tamala (bark) by using multiple solvent systems (non-polar to polar, beginning with petroleum ether followed by n-hexane, benzene, and chloroform) and an effort was given to assess the leishmanicidal activities against Leishmania donovani miltefosine resistant HePC-R (Ld/MIL-30) promastigotes in vitro and the IC50 concentrations were estimated. Results: The study revealed that the semi-purified fractions of A. mexicana, M. koenigii, and C. tamala have effective antileishmanial activities and the 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50) are 50 μg/ml, 98 μg/ml, and 200 μg/ml, respectively. At these (IC50) concentrations, these plant semi-purified fractions were found to interfere in lipid and protein biosynthesis, alter cell morphology, DNA content, mitochondrial membrane potential, generating ROS, and apoptosis in promastigotes. The semi-purified fractions were also found noticeably non-toxic towards host splenocytes. Conclusion: These results could suggest that A. mexicana, M. koenigii, and C. tamala could carry potential novel compounds for the development of new drugs against Leishmaniasis.

Chemical Constituents from Wood of Zanthoxylum rigidum Hum. and Bonpl. Ex Willd (Rutaceae) and Antileishmanial Activities

In this study was reported the structural elucidation by means of nuclear magnetic resonance (1D and 2D), FT-IR and mass spectrometry of lupeol (1), a mixture of the steroids campesterol (2), b-sitosterol (3) and stigmasterol (4), sesamin (5), trans-dimethylmatairesinol (6), trans-methylpluviatolide (7), quercetin (8), and d-mannitol (9) isolated from wood of Zanthoxylum rigidum. The lignans 5, 6 and 7 were tested for their ability to inhibit the proliferation of the promastigote forms of Leishmania braziliensis and Leishmania chagasi. Only sesamin (5) and trans-methylpluviatolide (7) showed moderate inhibitory activity with IC50 = 22.4 and 33.6, SI = 3.87 and 2.41 and CC50 = 86.9 and 81.2, for L. braziliensis and L. chagasi, respectively, compared to the positive control (amphotericin B).