Leishmaniasis is a neglected disease that affects millions of people worldwide. This study aimed to analyze antileishmanial activity of leaf essential oil (EO) on promastigote and amastigote forms of , cytotoxicity in murine macrophages and sheep erythrocytes. The essential oil (EO) was analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrophotometry. The main and most abundant compounds were sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (71.22%) such as -caryophyllene (7.87%), bicyclogermacrene (11.28%), and -cadinene (8.34%). The IC for promastigote and amastigote forms of was 70 µg mL and 6 µg mL, respectively. EO was not cytotoxic for murine macrophages (CC 1860 µg mL) and sheep erythrocytes (1.5%), presenting high selectivity index for protozoan (310). EO induced effects on the morphology and ultrastructure of this parasite. The high activity for intracellular amastigote forms, low toxicity to murine macrophages, and erythrocytes, suggest that EO is promising for the treatment of leishmaniasis.