In Vitro Effects of Turmeric and Licorice Total Extracts on L. Major Promastigotes

Document Type : Original Article (s)

Authors

1 Skin Diseases and Leishmaniasis Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Skin Diseases and Leishmaniasis Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan and Skin and Stem Cell Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

3 Professor, Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

4 Associate Professor, Department of Parasitology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

5 Researcher, Skin Diseases and Leishmaniasis Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan Iran

Abstract

Background: Pentavalent antimonial compounds are the main treatment option for cutaneous leishmaniasis. However, their clinical use has limitations such as lack of efficacy by oral route, long-term treatment period, emergence of drug resistance in about 10-15% of cases, cardiac toxicity, and reversible renal insufficiency.  Curcumins are phenolic derivatives extracted from turmeric rhizome which have anti-leishmania effects. Intraperitoneal injection of licochalcone A, extracted from licorice root, prevents ulcer in BALB/c mice infected by L. major.  As a part of screening of Iranian herbs with potential antileishmanial activity, the effects of total extract of turmeric and licorice on L. major culture were assessed in this study.Methods: Serial concentrations of 0.4, 0.5, 1, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg/ml were prepared from the dried plant extract. Moreover, 400 microliters of the parasite suspension was added to all test tubes except for the negative control in which only the culture media was added. Amphotericin B 0.1 mg/ml was used as the positive control. The average numbers of promastigotes of all three series of test tubes were calculated. For each concentration, percent of alive parasites at different times were recorded. The results were expressed as IC50 of each extract.Findings: The 2 mg/ml concentration of turmeric extracts resulted in rapid death of promastigotes compared to 0.2 mg/ml concentration which killed them after 88 hours of exposure. The effects of licorice total extract were similar to negative control at lower concentrations (0.5 and 1 mg/ml). Increasing the concentration up to 16 mg/ml killed more promastigotes. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that both turmeric and licorice total extracts have antileishmanial effects in-vitro. However, the overall activity of licorice on promastigotes is much less than turmeric. It also kills parasites at higher doses.

Keywords

References

  1. WHO expertise. Tenth program report of world health organization. 1st ed. Swisis: WHO press; 1990.
  2. Azmoudeh M. Report on leishmaniasis in Iran. Tehran: Ministry of Health. Treatment and Medication Education; 1989.
  3. Nadim A, Javadian E, Seyedi-Rashti MA. Epidemiology of leishmaniasis in Iran. In: Ardehali S, Rezai HR, Nadim A, editors. Leishmania parasite. 2nd ed. Tehran: Iran University Press; 1994. p. 178-80.
  4. Saebi A. Parasitic diseases in Iran. Tehran: Rozbahan Publishing; 1996.
  5. Chan-Bacab MJ, Pena-Rodriguez LM. Plant natural products with leishmanicidal activity. Nat Prod Rep 2001; 18(6): 674-88.
  6. Rates SM. Plants as source of drugs. Toxicon 2001; 39(5): 603-13.
  7. Tiuman TS, Ueda-Nakamura T, Garcia Cortez DA, Dias Filho BP, Morgado-Diaz JA, de SW, et al. Antileishmanial activity of parthenolide, a sesquiterpene lactone isolated from Tanacetum parthenium. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2005; 49(1): 176-82.
  8. Socorro MD, Rosa S, Mendonça-Filho RR, Bizzo HR, Rodrigues IDA, Soares RMA, et al. Antileishmanial Activity of a Linalool-Rich Essential Oil from Croton cajucara. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2003; 47(6): 1895-901.
  9. Ferreira IC, Lonardoni MV, Machado GM, Leon LL, Gobbi FL, Pinto LH, et al. Anti-leishmanial activity of alkaloidal extract from Aspidosperma ramiflorum. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz 2004; 99(3): 325-7.
  10. Delorenzi JC, Attias M, Gattass CR, Andrade M, Rezende C, da Cunha PA, et al. Antileishmanial activity of an indole alkaloid from Peschiera australis. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2001; 45(5): 1349-54.
  11. Saleheen D, Ali SA, Yasinzai MM. Antileishmanial activity of aqueous onion extract in vitro. Fitoterapia 2004; 75(1): 9-13.
  12. Chen M, Christensen SB, Blom J, Lemmich E, Nadelmann L, Fich K, et al. Licochalcone A, a novel antiparasitic agent with potent activity against human pathogenic protozoan species of Leishmania. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 1993; 37(12): 2550-6.
  13. Ferreiraa ME, Rojas de Ariasa A, Torres de Ortiza S, Inchaustia A, Nakayamaa H, Thouvenelb C, et al. Leishmanicidal activity of two canthin-6-one alkaloids, two major constituents of Zanthoxylum chiloperone var. angustifolium. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 2002; 80(2-3): 199-202.
  14. Leon LL, Miranda CC, De Souza AO, Duran N. Antileishmanial activity of the violacein extracted from Chromobacterium violaceum. J Antimicrob Chemother 2001; 48(3): 449-50.
  15. Chen M, Christensen SB, Theander TG, Kharazmi A. Antileishmanial activity of licochalcone A in mice infected with Leishmania major and in hamsters infected with Leishmania donovani. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 1994; 38(6): 1339-44.
  16. Sairafianpour M, Christensen J, Staerk D, Budnik BA, Kharazmi A, Bagherzadeh K, et al. Leishmanicidal, antiplasmodial, and cytotoxic activity of novel diterpenoid 1,2-quinones from Perovskia abrotanoides: new source of tanshinones. J Nat Prod 2001; 64(11): 1398-403.
  17. Sairafianpour M, Kayser O, Christensen J, Asfa M, Witt M, Staerk D, et al. Leishmanicidal and antiplasmodial activity of constituents of Smirnowia iranica. J Nat Prod 2002; 65(12): 1754-8.
  18. Moheb Ali M, Chenari A, Nazari M. The efficacy of Cassia fistula on Leishmaniasis major ulcer in Balb/c mice. Pajhohandeh 1999; 13: 14-9.
  19. Tabatabai F, Ghaffari Far T, Dalimy ASl R, Ebrahimian H. Study the effect of herbal ointment containing alkaloid compounds on wound healing and expansion of leishmaniasis in Balb/c mice infected L.major. Proceedings of the National Congress of New Skin Diseases and Cutaneous Leishmaniasis; 2003 Apr 24-25; Isfahan, Iran
  20. Ghazanfari T, Zahair MH, Ebtekar M, Ahmadiani A. Garlic extract and simultaneous use in treating wounds caused Glucantime Leishmania major in susceptible mice. Proceedings of the National Congress of New Skin Diseases and Cutaneous Leishmaniasis; 2003 Apr 24-25; Isfahan, Iran
  21. Kayser O, Kiderlen AF, Croft SL. Natural products as antiparasitic drugs. Parasitol Res 2003; 90(Suppl 2): S55-S62.
  22. Koide T, Nose M, Ogihara Y, Yabu Y, Ohta N. Leishmanicidal effect of curcumin in vitro. Biol Pharm Bull 2002; 25(1): 131-3.
  23. Tolouei S, Hejazi S H, Mostaghim M, Sadeghian G, Asilian A, Shatalebi, MA. Therapeutic effect with gentamicin sulfate Paramomaycin films in the treatment of cutaneous lesions of Balb/c mice infected L.major. Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences 2004; 7(1):12-6.
  24. Tahani M. Therapeutic effect of ointment on the lesions of cutaneous leishmaniasis mice [PhD Thesis]. Isfahan: Isfahan University of Medical Sciences; 1999.
  25. Mohebali M, Yaghoobi P, Houshmand B, Khamesipour A. Effect of ointment prepared in Paramomaycin (Paramou) on cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania major in mouse models. Journal of skin diseases 2003; 7(2): 88-94.
  26. Mir Heidar H. Education plant, plants used in the prevention and treatment of diseases. 3rd ed. Office of Islamic culture; 1997.
  27. Ghasemi-Dehkordi N. Iranian herbal pharmacopoeia. Tehran: Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Food and Drug Administration; 2002.
  28. Zhai L, Blom J, Chen M, Christensen SB, Kharazmi A. The antileishmanial agent licochalcone A interferes with the function of parasite mitochondria. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 1995; 39(12): 2742-8.
  29. Shariatifar N, Chamanzari H, Ghanay SM. The study of flos plant on progmastigote in culture. Ofogh-e-Danesh 2006; 11(4): 5-9.
  30. Jaafari MR, Behravan J, Abde-Emami J, Saghafi-Khadem F, Ramezani M. Evaluation of Leishmanicidal Effect of Euphorbia bungei Boiss Extract by in vitro Leishmanicidal Assay Using Promastigotes of Leishmania major. International Journal of Pharmacology 2006; 2(5): 571-5.
  31. Rasmussen HB, Christensen SB, Kvist LP, Karazmi A. A simple and efficient separation of the curcumins, the antiprotozoal constituents of Curcuma longa. Planta Med 2000; 66(4): 396-8.
  32. Gomes DC, Alegrio LV, de Lima ME, Leon LL, Araujo CA. Synthetic derivatives of curcumin and their activity against Leishmania amazonensis. Arzneimittelforschung 2002; 52(2): 120-4.
  33. Gomes DC, Alegrio LV, Leon LL, de Lima ME. Total synthesis and anti-leishmanial activity of some curcumin analogues. Arzneimittelforschung 2002; 52(9): 695-8.
  34. Saleheen D, Ali SA, Ashfaq K, Siddiqui AA, Agha A, Yasinzai MM. Latent activity of curcumin against leishmaniasis in vitro. Biol Pharm Bull 2002; 25(3): 386-9.
  35. Liew FY, Millott S, Parkinson C, Palmer RM, Moncada S. Macrophage killing of Leishmania parasite in vivo is mediated by nitric oxide from L-arginine. J Immunol 1990; 144(12): 4794-7.
  36. Chan MM, Adapala NS, Fong D. Curcumin overcomes the inhibitory effect of nitric oxide on Leishmania. Parasitol Res 2005; 96(1): 49-56.
  37. Nose M, Koide T, Ogihara Y, Yabu Y, Ohta N. Trypanocidal effects of curcumin in vitro. Biol Pharm Bull 1998; 21(6): 643-5.
  38. Mukhopadhyay R, Madhubala R. Effect of antioxidants on the growth and polyamine levels of Leishmania donovani. Biochem Pharmacol 1994; 47(4): 611-5.
  39. Mittra B, Saha A, Chowdhury AR, Pal C, Mandal S, Mukhopadhyay S, et al. Luteolin, an abundant dietary component is a potent anti-leishmanial agent that acts by inducing topoisomerase II-mediated kinetoplast DNA cleavage leading to apoptosis. Mol Med 2000; 6(6): 527-41.
Journal of Isfahan Medical School
Volume 29, Issue 169 - Serial Number 169
November and December 2012
Pages 2541-2551

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 27 April 2011
  • Revise Date: 28 April 2024
  • Accept Date: 06 April 2022

Share

How to cite

Statistics