In vitro leishmanicidal activity of some Cameroonian medicinal plants

In vitro evaluation of hydroalcoholic extracts of Capparis Spinosa L., Ricinus communis, and Solanum luteum on Leishmania major (MRHO/IR/75/ER) promastigotes

Background: Plant extracts or compounds derived from plants are a valuable source for finding new anti-leishmaniasis drugs. Objective: In this study, Capparis spinosa L., Ricinus communis, and Solanum luteum were used as lethal agents for the promastigotes of Leishmania major parasites in the culture medium. Methods: Diluted extracts of 12.5, 100, and 500 mg/mL were prepared from medicinal plant dried extracts. Glucantime at a concentration of 500 mg/mL was used as a positive control. Results: For all three extracts, concentrations of 100 and 500 mg/mL could kill promastigotes at higher rates and speeds compared to other concentrations. The high concentrations of extracts (500 mg/mL) presented similar effects. According to the findings, hydroalcoholic extract of C. Spinosa L. presented considerably lower antiparasitic effects, and S. luteum and R. communis extracts were could kill most of the parasitic promastigotes at higher doses. The ANOVA test did not show any significant viability percentage difference of Leishmania extracts between different extract types. Conclusions: In this study, the lethal effects of R. communis and S. luteum hydroalcoholic extracts on L. major promastigotes were found to be stronger than the C. Spinosa L. extract.

Traditional Herbal Medicine in Mesoamerica: Toward Its Evidence Base for Improving Universal Health Coverage

The quality of health care in Mesoamerica is influenced by its rich cultural diversity and characterized by social inequalities. Especially indigenous and rural communities confront diverse barriers to accessing formal health services, leading to often conflicting plurimedical systems. Fostering integrative medicine is a fundamental pillar for achieving universal health coverage (UHC) for marginalized populations. Recent developments toward health sovereignty in the region are concerned with assessing the role of traditional medicines, and particularly herbal medicines, to foster accessible and culturally pertinent healthcare provision models. In Mesoamerica, as in most regions of the world, a wealth of information on traditional and complementary medicine has been recorded. Yet these data are often scattered, making it difficult for policy makers to regulate and integrate traditionally used botanical products into primary health care. This critical review is based on a quantitative analysis of 28 survey papers focusing on the traditional use of botanical drugs in Mesoamerica used for the compilation of the "Mesoamerican Medicinal Plant Database" (MAMPDB), which includes a total of 12,537 use-records for 2188 plant taxa. Our approach presents a fundamental step toward UHC by presenting a pharmacological and toxicological review of the cross-culturally salient plant taxa and associated botanical drugs used in traditional medicine in Mesoamerica. Especially for native herbal drugs, data about safety and effectiveness are limited. Commonly used cross-culturally salient botanical drugs, which are considered safe but for which data on effectiveness is lacking constitute ideal candidates for treatment outcome studies.

Evaluation of Antileishmanial Activity of Albaha Medicinal Plants against Leishmania amazonensis

Sixteen methanolic extracts obtained from thirteen plant species, selected either from ethnobotanical or chemotaxonomical data, were screened for their antileishmanial activity against Leishmania amazonensis. The cytotoxic activity against normal peritoneal macrophages from normal BALB/c mice was also determined. Eight extracts had IC50 values ranging from <12.5 to 37.8 µg/mL against promastigotes. Achillea biebersteinii flower, Euphorbia helioscopia, and Solanum incanum leaf extracts showed antileishmanial activities with IC50 between <12.5-26.9 µg/mL and acceptable selectivity indices of 8-5. The other leishmanicidal plant extracts, with IC50 ranging from 18.0 to 29.5 µg/mL, exhibited low selectivity indices.

Evaluation of the in vitro antiplasmodial, antileishmanial, and antitrypanosomal activity of medicinal plants used in saudi and yemeni traditional medicine

The antiplasmodial, antileishmanial, and antitrypanosomal activity of twenty-five medicinal plants distributed in Saudi Arabia and Yemen was evaluated. The plants were extracted with methanol and screened in vitro against erythrocytic schizonts of Plasmodium falciparum, intracellular amastigotes of Leishmania infantum and Trypanosoma cruzi, and free trypomastigotes of T. brucei. To assess selectivity, cytotoxicity was determined on MRC-5 cells. Criteria for activity were an IC₅₀ < 10 μg/mL and high selectivity (SI). Seven plants showed interesting antiprotozoal activity in one or more models. Extracts of Caralluma penicillata and Acalypha ciliata showed fairly good activity against P. falciparum with IC₅₀ of 6.7 and 10.8 μg/mL and adequate selectivity (SI > 9.6 and >5.9). Interesting activity against L. infantum was obtained with Verbascum bottae (IC₅₀ of 3.2 μg/mL, SI 10.2) and Solanum glabratum (IC₅₀ 8.1 μg/mL, SI 3.4). The extracts of C. penicillata, Leucas virgata, Loranthus regularis, and V. bottae exhibited moderate activity against T. brucei (IC₅₀ 8.5, 8.1, 8.3, and 2.3 μg/mL; SI > 7.6, 7.7, 4.3, and >14.1). These results partly support the traditional use of some of the selected medicinal plants and warrant further investigations into the putative active constituents.