The antileishmanial effects of and on promastigotes: an in vitro study.

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease caused by different species of protozoan parasites belonging to the genus . In this study, (MRHO/IR/75/ER) promastigotes were cultured at 23-25 °C in brain heart infusion BHI medium supplemented with 10 % heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum (FBS) and penicillin and streptomycin. Antileishmanial effects of and methanolic extracts (0.07, 0.15, 0.31, 0.62, 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10 mg/mL) on promastigotes were evaluated using the MTT (3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay. All experiments were repeated at least three times. methanolic extract did not show any activity while methanolic extract inhibited the growth of promastigote forms of in vitro after 72 h of incubation and had a 50 % inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 1.25 mg/mL. The methanolic extract of (henna) can be a promising antileishmanial agent in the future. Further experiments are needed for isolation of active fractions and identification of the active components of methanolic extract.