In vitro and in vivo effects of Astragalus ecbatanus extract against cutaneous leishmaniasis

Document Type : Original Articles

Authors

1 Razi Herbal Medicines Research Center, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran.

2 Tehran University of Medical Sciences

3 Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

4 Student Research Committee, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran.

5 Razi Herbal Medicines

10.32592/ARI.2024.79.5.929

Abstract

Due to the unique properties of Astragalus in the treatment of diseases and strengthening the immune system, for the first time, this study tried to study the in vitro and in vivo leishmanicidal effects of chloroform extract of A. ecbatanus (AECE) on Leishmania major. The in vitro activity was determined against promastigote and amastigote forms of L. major (MHOM/AF/88/KK27). In addition, the effect of AECE on induction nitric oxide (NO) and the level of macrophage infectivity rate were evaluated. In vivo, antileishmanial effects of topical administration of AECE at 10 and 20 mg/kg were evaluated on cutaneous leishmaniasis in mice. The 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50) index of AECE and amphotericin B for promastigotes were 76.3 and 2.78 μg/mL, respectively. The number of amastigotes dose-dependently decreased after treatment with AECE. The IC50 and 50% cytotoxic concentrations (CC50) for AECE were 39.4 and 408.3 µg/ml, respectively. The extract prompted the NO creation, while, diminished the level of macrophage infection. Followed by four weeks of AECE therapy, lesions of CL were healed in the infected mice. The number of the amastigote forms of Leishmania in the CL lesions was also considerably decreased after AECE therapy of the infected mice (p<0.05). These findings reported the considerable effects of AECE in inhibiting and eliminating Leishmania in vivo and in vitro. Even though we indicated some cellular mechanisms of AECE, e.g. reducing the infectivity rate and induction of NO production against Leishmania parasites, further experiments are essential to identify the specific mechanisms of action, safety, and its ability principally in animals and human subjects.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

  1. Monzote L. Current treatment of leishmaniasis: a review. Open Antimicrob Age J. 2009;1(1):9-19.
  2. Torres-Guerrero E, Quintanilla-Cedillo MR, Ruiz-Esmenjaud J, Arenas R. Leishmaniasis: a review. F1000Research. 2017;6: 750.
  3. Albalawi AE, Alanazi AD, Sharif I, Ezzatkhah F. A systematic review of curcumin and its derivatives as valuable sources of antileishmanial agents. Acta Parasitol. 2021; 66: 797-811.
  4. Oliveira LF, Schubach AO, Martins MM, Passos SL, Oliveira RV, Marzochi MC, Andrade CA. Systematic review of the adverse effects of cutaneous leishmaniasis treatment in the New World. Acta Trop. 2011;118(2):87-96.
  5. Rios JL, Waterman PG. A review of the pharmacology and toxicology of Astragalus. Phytother Res. 1997;11(6):411-418.
  6. Li X, Qu L, Dong Y, Han L, Liu E, Fang S, Zhang Y, Wang T. A review of recent research progress on the Astragalus genus. Molecules. 2014;19(11):18850-18880.
  7. Pouramini A, Sh J, Shayan P, Ebrahimzadeh E, Namavari M, Shirian S. Molecular and serological detection of Neospora caninum in multiple tissues and CSF in asymptomatic infected stray dogs in Tehran, Iran. Iranian Journal of Veterinary Medicine. 2017;11(2):105-12.
  8. Niazi M, Saki M, Sepahvand M, Jahanbakhsh S, Khatami M, Beyranvand M. In vitro and ex vivo scolicidal effects of Olea europaea L. to inactivate the protoscolecs during hydatid cyst surgery. Annals Med Surg. 2019; 42:7-10.
  9. Ezatpour B, Saedi Dezaki E, Mahmoudvand H, Azadpour M, Ezzatkhah F. In Vitro and In Vivo Antileishmanial Effects of Pistacia khinjuk against Leishmania tropica and Leishmania major. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2015; 2015: 149707.
  10. Albalawi AE, Khalaf AK, Alyousif MS, Alanazi AD, Baharvand P, Shakibaie M, Mahmoudvand H. Fe3O4@ piroctone olamine magnetic nanoparticles: Synthesize and therapeutic potential in cutaneous leishmaniasis. Biomed Pharmacother. 2021;139: 111566.
  11. Hesami D, Ghaffarifar F, Dalimi Asl A, Nasiri V, Ghasemi E, Jorjani O. A study on the effects of Pistacia atlantica Desf. essential oil on Leishmania major in vitro and in vivo. Iranian J Med Arom Plants Res. 2019;35(1):44-53.
  12. Mahmoudvand H, Ezzatkhah F, Sharififar F, Sharifi I, Dezaki ES. Antileishmanial and cytotoxic effects of essential oil and methanolic extract of Myrtus communis L. The Korean J Parasitol. 2015;53(1):21.
  13. Albalawi AE, Abdel-Shafy S, Khudair Khalaf A, Alanazi AD, Baharvand P, Ebrahimi K, Mahmoudvand H. Therapeutic potential of green synthesized copper nanoparticles alone or combined with meglumine antimoniate (glucantime®) in cutaneous leishmaniasis. Nanomaterials. 2021; 11: 891.
  14. Mahmoudvand H, Kheirandish F, Mirbadie SR, Kayedi MH, Riabi TR, Ghasemi AA, Bamorovat M, Sharifi I. The potential use of methotrexate in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis: in vitro assays against sensitive and meglumine antimoniate-resistant strains of Leishmania tropica. Iranian J Parasitol. 2017;12(3):339.
  15. Tajbakhsh E, Khamesipour A, Hosseini SR, Kosari N, Shantiae S, Khamesipour F. The effects of medicinal herbs and marine natural products on wound healing of cutaneous leishmaniasis: A systematic review. Microbial Pathogen. 2021;161:105235.
  16. Gharirvand Eskandari E, Setorki M, Doudi M. Medicinal plants with antileishmanial properties: A review study. Pharm Biomed Res. 2020;6(1):1-6.
  17. Mikaeili A, Karimi I, Shamspur T, Gholamine B, Modaresi M, Khanlari A. Anti-candidal activity of Astragalus verus in the in vitro and in vivo guinea pig models of cutaneous and systemic candidiasis. Rev Bras Farmacogn. 2012;22(5):1035-1043.
  18. Kanaan H et al. Screening for antibacterial and antibiofilm activities in Astragalus angulosus. J Intercul Ethnopharmacol. 2016;6(1):50-57.
  19. Khan MN, Ahmed M, Khan MW, et al. In vitro Pharmacological Effects of Astragalus eremophilus and Melilotus parviflora. Acta Biol Hung. 2018;69(4):411-422.
  20. Bratkov VM, Shkondrov AM, Zdraveva PK, Krasteva IN. Flavonoids from the genus Astragalus: phytochemistry and biological activity. Pharmacogn Rev. 2016;10(19):11-32.
  21. Górniak I, Bartoszewski R, Króliczewski J. Comprehensive review of antimicrobial activities of plant flavonoids. Phytochem Rev. 2019;18(1):241-272.
  22. Panche AN, Diwan AD, Chandra SR. Flavonoids: an overview. J Nutr Sci. 2016;5:e47.
  23. Miklasińska-Majdanik M, Kępa M, Wojtyczka RD, Idzik D, Wąsik TJ. Phenolic Compounds Diminish Antibiotic Resistance of Staphylococcus Aureus Clinical Strains. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018;15(10):2321.
  24. Othman L, Sleiman A, Abdel-Massih RM. Antimicrobial activity of polyphenols and alkaloids in middle eastern plants. Front Microbiol. 2019;10:911.
  25. Karampetsou K, Koutsoni OS, Dotsika E. Quantification of Nitric Oxide and Reactive Oxygen Species in Leishmania-infected J774A.1 Macrophages as a Response to the in vitro treatment with a Natural Product Compound. Bio Protoc. 2019;9(23):e3442.
Archives of Razi Institute
Volume 79, Issue 5
September and October 2024
Pages 929-934

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics