In vitro and in vivo activities of Peganum harmala extract against Leishmania major

Abstract

• BACKGROUND: In vitro and in vivo antileishmanial activities of crude hydroalcoholic extract of peganum harmala seeds were investigated against Leishmania major.
• METHODS: The extract of  aerial parts of P harmala was obtained by maceration. The in vitro experiments were per- formed on promastigotes to assess antileishmanial activity of the extract using amphotericin B as a reference. The in vivo studies were carried out on cutaneous leishmaniasis in outbred mice to evaluate the effects of topical application of the ointment-based extract.
• RESULTS: The in vitro experiments showed a concentration-dependent decrease of parasites number caused by the ex- tract with an IC50 value of 59.4 g/ml. In vivo studies demonstrated a significant post-treatment decrease in the lesion size and parasite count in infected animals, compared to placebo and control groups. High performance liquid chroma- tography (HPLC) of the crude extract demonstrated the existence of harmaline and harmine as beta-carboline alkaloids.
• CONCLUSIONS: P harmala seeds extract showed significant in vitro and in vivo antileishmanial activities. Most biologi- cal activity of the extract could be attributed to  its beta-carboline content. However, another alkaloid of P harmala seeds extract, peganine, has also been reported to have antileishmanial activity. These beneficial effects can be attri- buted to the cumulative effects of various biologically active components present in it.
• KEYWORDS: Cutaneous leishmaniasis; Leishmania Major, Peganum Harmala; Outbred Mice.