Parasitology Department, Institute of Tropical Medicine 'Pedro Kouri', Havana, Cuba.
Phytother Res. 2014 May;28(5):753-8. doi: 10.1002/ptr.5055. Epub 2013 Aug 27.
Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by Leishmania protozoa. There is currently no vaccine against leishmaniasis, and chemotherapy remains the only effective control. However, conventional drugs are toxic, expensive, and require long periods of treatment, and resistance to clinical chemotherapeutic agents is emerging. Recent research on plants has shown a successful approach to obtain new antileishmanial alternatives. Herein, the in vitro and in vivo effects of the essential oil from Bixa orellana seeds against Leishmania amazonensis were evaluated. A total of 73 compounds were detected by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis, of which ishwarane (18.6%) and geranylgeraniol (9.1%) were the major components. The oil showed activity against intracellular amastigote form (IC50 = 8.5 µg/mL), while the cytotoxic concentration was sevenfold higher for the host cells. The ability of Bixa oil to control disease progression of established cutaneous leishmaniasis in BALB/c mice was demonstrated, after a treatment with 30 mg/kg by intraperitoneal administration over 14 days. The present study reports for the first time the antileishmanial potentialities of the essential oil from B. orellana.
利什曼病是一种由利什曼原虫引起的被忽视的热带病。目前尚无针对利什曼病的疫苗，化疗仍然是唯一有效的控制方法。然而，传统药物具有毒性、昂贵且需要长期治疗，并且临床化学治疗药物的耐药性正在出现。最近对植物的研究表明，获得新的抗利什曼病替代药物的方法是成功的。本文评估了胭脂树种子精油对亚马逊利什曼原虫的体外和体内作用。气相色谱-质谱分析共检测到 73 种化合物，其中 ishwarane（18.6%）和香叶二烯醇（9.1%）为主要成分。该油对细胞内无鞭毛体形式具有活性（IC50=8.5μg/mL），而对宿主细胞的细胞毒性浓度则高出七倍。在用 30mg/kg 的剂量通过腹腔内给药治疗 14 天后，证明 Bixa 油能够控制 BALB/c 小鼠已建立的皮肤利什曼病的疾病进展。本研究首次报道了胭脂树种子精油的抗利什曼病潜力。
