Experimental treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis with argentilactone isolated from Annona haematantha.

Abstract

From the hexanic extract of roots of Annona haematantha an alpha,beta-unsaturated delta-lactone was isolated and identified as argentilactone. This compound exhibited in vitro activity against various strains of Leishmania ssp. at 10 micrograms/ml. BALB/c mice infected with Leishmania amazonensis were treated four weeks after infection with argentilactone by oral or subcutaneous routes for 14 days at 25 mg/kg daily. The reference drug, N-methylglucamine antimonate, was administered by subcutaneous injections at 100 mg/kg for 14 days. In these conditions, argentilactone showed the same efficacy as the reference drug, reducing by 96% the parasite loads in the lesion and by 50% the parasite burden in spleen.

• Authors: A I Waechter, M E Ferreira, A Fournet, A Rojas de Arias, H Nakayama, S Torres, R Hocquemiller, A Cavé
• Journal: Planta medica (Planta Med) Vol. 63 Issue 5 Pg. 433-5 (Oct 1997) ISSN: 0032-0943 [Print] Germany
• PMID: 9342948 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Lactones
• Trypanocidal Agents
• argentilactone

Topics

• Animals
• Female
• French Guiana
• Lactones (chemistry, isolation & purification, therapeutic use)
• Leishmania mexicana (isolation & purification)
• Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous (drug therapy, pathology, physiopathology)
• Male
• Medicine, African Traditional
• Mice
• Mice, Inbred BALB C
• Plants, Medicinal
• Trypanocidal Agents (chemistry, isolation & purification, therapeutic use)