Topical Application of Oxylipin (3)-16,17-Didehydrofalcarinol in Mice Infected with : A Possible Treatment for Localized Cutaneous Leishmaniasis.

Pentavalent antimonials are the first-line treatment for localized cutaneous leishmaniasis. However, they have disadvantages such as their elevated toxicity, high costs, and parenteral application. Plant-derived compounds may be an alternative treatment against this disease. Previous studies have shown that (3)-16,17-didehydrofalcarinol (), a polyacetylene oxylipin isolated from , is active against . We have analyzed the mechanism of action of compound , evaluating reactive oxygen species production, apoptosis of , cytotoxicity in murine macrophages, and its efficacy in controlling the disease progression and parasite load when applied topically in C57BL/6 mice infected with . Results show that parasites incubated with 1.6 μM compound significantly increased reactive oxygen species production ( ≤ 0.05). The percentage of apoptosis also increased significantly ( ≤ 0.05) and did not affect the viability of macrophages. The application of the topical formulations with 0.5% and 0.75% compound for 7 weeks reduced disease progression and parasite load. We demonstrate that compound generates the death of by apoptosis through reactive oxygen species production. We conclude that compound can be used a possible alternative treatment for localized cutaneous leishmaniasis, enabling a less painful and more accessible therapy.