Antileishmanial Activities of Medicinal Herbs and Phytochemicals In Vitro and In Vivo: An Update for the Years 2015 to 2021

Abstract

Leishmaniasis is one of the most neglected tropical diseases that present areal public health problems worldwide. Chemotherapy has several limitations such as toxic side effects, high costs, frequent relapses, the development of resistance, and the requirement for long-term treatment. Effective vaccines or drugs to prevent or cure the disease are not available yet. Therefore, it is important to dissect antileishmanial molecules that present selective efficacy and tolerable safety. Several studies revealed the antileishmanial activity of medicinal plants. Several organic extracts/essential oils and isolated natural compounds have been tested for their antileishmanial activities. Therefore, the aim of this review is to update and summarize the investigations that have been undertaken on the antileishmanial activity of medicinal plants and natural compounds derived, rom plants from January 2015 to December 2021. In this review, 94 plant species distributed in 39 families have been identified with antileishmanial activities. The leaves were the most commonly used plant part (49.5%) followed by stem bark, root, and whole plant (21.9%, 6.6%, and 5.4%, respectively). Other plant parts contributed less (<5%). The activity was reported against amastigotes and/or promastigotes of different species (L. infantum, L. tropica, L. major, L. amazonensis, L. aethiopica, L. donovani, L. braziliensis, L. panamensis, L. guyanensis, and L. mexicana). Most studies (84.2%) were carried out in vitro, and the others (15.8%) were performed in vivo. The IC50 values of 103 plant extracts determined in vitro were in a range of 0.88 µg/mL (polar fraction of dichloromethane extract of Boswellia serrata) to 98 µg/mL (petroleum ether extract of Murraya koenigii). Among the 15 plant extracts studied in vivo, the hydroalcoholic leaf extract of Solanum havanense reduced parasites by 93.6% in cutaneous leishmaniasis. Voacamine extracted from Tabernaemontana divaricata reduced hepatic parasitism by ≈30 times and splenic parasitism by ≈15 times in visceral leishmaniasis. Regarding cytotoxicity, 32.4% of the tested plant extracts against various Leishmania species have a selectivity index higher than 10. For isolated compounds, 49 natural compounds have been reported with anti-Leishmania activities against amastigotes and/or promastigotes of different species (L. infantum, L. major, L. amazonensis, L. donovani and L. braziliensis). The IC50 values were in a range of 0.2 µg/mL (colchicoside against promastigotes of L. major) to 42.4 µg/mL (dehydrodieuginol against promastigotes of L. amazonensis). In conclusion, there are numerous medicinal plants and natural compounds with strong effects (IC50 < 100 µg/mL) against different Leishmania species under in vitro and in vivo conditions with good selectivity indices (SI > 10). These plants and compounds may be promising sources for the development of new drugs against leishmaniasis and should be investigated in randomized clinical trials.

Autoren

Abdalla A Hassan
Hassan E Khalid
Abdelwahab H Abdalla
Maowia M Mukhtar
Wadah J Osman
Thomas Efferth

DOI

10.3390/molecules27217579

eISSN

1420-3049

Ausgabe der Veröffentlichung

21

Zeitschrift

Molecules

Sprache

en

Online publication date

2022

Paginierung

7579 - 7579

Status

Published online

Herausgeber

MDPI AG

Herausgeber URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/molecules27217579

Datum der Datenerfassung

2022

Titel

Antileishmanial Activities of Medicinal Herbs and Phytochemicals In Vitro and In Vivo: An Update for the Years 2015 to 2021

Ausgabe der Zeitschrift

27

Data source: Crossref

Abstract

Leishmaniasis is one of the most neglected tropical diseases that present areal public health problems worldwide. Chemotherapy has several limitations such as toxic side effects, high costs, frequent relapses, the development of resistance, and the requirement for long-term treatment. Effective vaccines or drugs to prevent or cure the disease are not available yet. Therefore, it is important to dissect antileishmanial molecules that present selective efficacy and tolerable safety. Several studies revealed the antileishmanial activity of medicinal plants. Several organic extracts/essential oils and isolated natural compounds have been tested for their antileishmanial activities. Therefore, the aim of this review is to update and summarize the investigations that have been undertaken on the antileishmanial activity of medicinal plants and natural compounds derived, rom plants from January 2015 to December 2021. In this review, 94 plant species distributed in 39 families have been identified with antileishmanial activities. The leaves were the most commonly used plant part (49.5%) followed by stem bark, root, and whole plant (21.9%, 6.6%, and 5.4%, respectively). Other plant parts contributed less (<5%). The activity was reported against amastigotes and/or promastigotes of different species (L. infantum, L. tropica, L. major, L. amazonensis, L. aethiopica, L. donovani, L. braziliensis, L. panamensis, L. guyanensis, and L. mexicana). Most studies (84.2%) were carried out in vitro, and the others (15.8%) were performed in vivo. The IC50 values of 103 plant extracts determined in vitro were in a range of 0.88 µg/mL (polar fraction of dichloromethane extract of Boswellia serrata) to 98 µg/mL (petroleum ether extract of Murraya koenigii). Among the 15 plant extracts studied in vivo, the hydroalcoholic leaf extract of Solanum havanense reduced parasites by 93.6% in cutaneous leishmaniasis. Voacamine extracted from Tabernaemontana divaricata reduced hepatic parasitism by ≈30 times and splenic parasitism by ≈15 times in visceral leishmaniasis. Regarding cytotoxicity, 32.4% of the tested plant extracts against various Leishmania species have a selectivity index higher than 10. For isolated compounds, 49 natural compounds have been reported with anti-Leishmania activities against amastigotes and/or promastigotes of different species (L. infantum, L. major, L. amazonensis, L. donovani and L. braziliensis). The IC50 values were in a range of 0.2 µg/mL (colchicoside against promastigotes of L. major) to 42.4 µg/mL (dehydrodieuginol against promastigotes of L. amazonensis). In conclusion, there are numerous medicinal plants and natural compounds with strong effects (IC50 < 100 µg/mL) against different Leishmania species under in vitro and in vivo conditions with good selectivity indices (SI > 10). These plants and compounds may be promising sources for the development of new drugs against leishmaniasis and should be investigated in randomized clinical trials.

Addresses

Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Khartoum, Khartoum 11115, Sudan.

Autoren

Abdalla A Hassan
Hassan E Khalid
Abdelwahab H Abdalla
Maowia M Mukhtar
Wadah J Osman
Thomas Efferth

DOI

10.3390/molecules27217579

eISSN

1420-3049

Externe Identifier

PubMed Identifier: 36364404
PubMed Central ID: PMC9656935

Open access

true

ISSN

1420-3049

Ausgabe der Veröffentlichung

21

Zeitschrift

Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)

Schlüsselwörter

Animals
Mice, Inbred BALB C
Humans
Mice
Plants, Medicinal
Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous
Plant Extracts
Antiprotozoal Agents
Phytochemicals

Sprache

eng

Medium

Electronic

Online publication date

2022

Open access status

Open Access

Paginierung

7579

Datum der Veröffentlichung

2022

Status

Published

Publisher licence

CC BY

Datum der Datenerfassung

2022

Titel

Antileishmanial Activities of Medicinal Herbs and Phytochemicals In Vitro and In Vivo: An Update for the Years 2015 to 2021.

Sub types

review-article
Review
Journal Article

Ausgabe der Zeitschrift

27

Files

https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/27/21/7579/pdf?version=1667890537 https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC9656935?pdf=render

Data source: Europe PubMed Central

Abstract

Leishmaniasis is one of the most neglected tropical diseases that present areal public health problems worldwide. Chemotherapy has several limitations such as toxic side effects, high costs, frequent relapses, the development of resistance, and the requirement for long-term treatment. Effective vaccines or drugs to prevent or cure the disease are not available yet. Therefore, it is important to dissect antileishmanial molecules that present selective efficacy and tolerable safety. Several studies revealed the antileishmanial activity of medicinal plants. Several organic extracts/essential oils and isolated natural compounds have been tested for their antileishmanial activities. Therefore, the aim of this review is to update and summarize the investigations that have been undertaken on the antileishmanial activity of medicinal plants and natural compounds derived, rom plants from January 2015 to December 2021. In this review, 94 plant species distributed in 39 families have been identified with antileishmanial activities. The leaves were the most commonly used plant part (49.5%) followed by stem bark, root, and whole plant (21.9%, 6.6%, and 5.4%, respectively). Other plant parts contributed less (<5%). The activity was reported against amastigotes and/or promastigotes of different species (L. infantum, L. tropica, L. major, L. amazonensis, L. aethiopica, L. donovani, L. braziliensis, L. panamensis, L. guyanensis, and L. mexicana). Most studies (84.2%) were carried out in vitro, and the others (15.8%) were performed in vivo. The IC50 values of 103 plant extracts determined in vitro were in a range of 0.88 µg/mL (polar fraction of dichloromethane extract of Boswellia serrata) to 98 µg/mL (petroleum ether extract of Murraya koenigii). Among the 15 plant extracts studied in vivo, the hydroalcoholic leaf extract of Solanum havanense reduced parasites by 93.6% in cutaneous leishmaniasis. Voacamine extracted from Tabernaemontana divaricata reduced hepatic parasitism by ≈30 times and splenic parasitism by ≈15 times in visceral leishmaniasis. Regarding cytotoxicity, 32.4% of the tested plant extracts against various Leishmania species have a selectivity index higher than 10. For isolated compounds, 49 natural compounds have been reported with anti-Leishmania activities against amastigotes and/or promastigotes of different species (L. infantum, L. major, L. amazonensis, L. donovani and L. braziliensis). The IC50 values were in a range of 0.2 µg/mL (colchicoside against promastigotes of L. major) to 42.4 µg/mL (dehydrodieuginol against promastigotes of L. amazonensis). In conclusion, there are numerous medicinal plants and natural compounds with strong effects (IC50 < 100 µg/mL) against different Leishmania species under in vitro and in vivo conditions with good selectivity indices (SI > 10). These plants and compounds may be promising sources for the development of new drugs against leishmaniasis and should be investigated in randomized clinical trials.

Date of acceptance

2022

Autoren

Abdalla A Hassan
Hassan E Khalid
Abdelwahab H Abdalla
Maowia M Mukhtar
Wadah J Osman
Thomas Efferth

Autoren-URL

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36364404

DOI

10.3390/molecules27217579

eISSN

1420-3049

Externe Identifier

PubMed Central ID: PMC9656935

Ausgabe der Veröffentlichung

21

Zeitschrift

Molecules

Schlüsselwörter

Leishmania
medicinal plant
natural product
neglected tropical disease
pharmacognosy
phytotherapy
promastigotes
Humans
Animals
Mice
Plants, Medicinal
Antiprotozoal Agents
Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous
Phytochemicals
Plant Extracts
Mice, Inbred BALB C

Sprache

eng

Country

Switzerland

PII

molecules27217579

Datum der Veröffentlichung

2022

Status

Published online

Datum, an dem der Datensatz öffentlich gemacht wurde

2022

Titel

Antileishmanial Activities of Medicinal Herbs and Phytochemicals In Vitro and In Vivo: An Update for the Years 2015 to 2021.

Sub types

Journal Article
Review

Ausgabe der Zeitschrift

27

Data source: PubMed

Antileishmanial Activities of Medicinal Herbs and Phytochemicals In Vitro and In Vivo: An Update for the Years 2015 to 2021

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