Anti-Leishmanial Activity of Artemisia persica, A. spicigera, and A. fragrance against Leishmania major

Mehdi  Najm; Ramtin  Hadighi; Maryam  Heidari-Kharaji; Maryam  Alipour; Maryam Hajizadeh; Raheleh  Rafiei-Sefiddashti; Aliehsan  Heidari; Alireza  Badirzadeh

doi:10.18502/ijpa.v16i3.7100

Mehdi Najm Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Ramtin Hadighi Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Maryam Heidari-Kharaji Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS)-Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie (CAFSB), Laval, Quebec, Canada
Maryam Alipour Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Maryam Hajizadeh Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Raheleh Rafiei-Sefiddashti Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Aliehsan Heidari Department of Medical Parasitology, School of Medicine, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran
Alireza Badirzadeh Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijpa.v16i3.7100

Keywords: Artemisia; Leishmania major; Parasitology

Abstract

Background: Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) like zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL), is a widespread infectious disease with high mortality and morbidity. Various medications are used for treating the disease, but several side effects and drug resistance have been reported. Herbal medicines are unlimited sources for discovering new medications to treat infectious diseases. We aimed to determine the leishmanicidal activity of three species of Iranian Artemisia herbal plant extracts in in-vitro.

Methods: In-vitro anti-leishmanial activity of ethanolic extracts on both promastigotes and amastigotes was determined by using MTT method. IC50, CC50, EC50 and SI were calculated. The study was done in 2019-2020 in Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Results: All of the three Artemisia species significantly reduced the number of parasite promastigotes. Among them, A. persica had the highest leishmanicidal activity against parasite promastigotes. Cytotoxicity assay elucidated that the Artemisia had no toxicity to the host cells, and killed the L. major amastigotes very efficiently. By increasing the dose of extracts, the parasite number in both phases (promastigotes and amastigotes) was reduced significantly.

Conclusion: These results indicated satisfactory anti-leishmanial activity of Artemisia extracts against ZCL in-vitro. Accordingly, Artemisia ethanolic extracts might be considered as a strong, effective and safe herbal compound for clearing the L. major with less toxicity to the host macrophages cells. Hence, it may be recognized as an excellent herbal therapy for treating the ZCL.