In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation of Essential Oil from Artemisia absinthium L. Formulated in Nanocochleates against Cutaneous Leishmaniasis

Background: Leishmaniasis is a zoonotic disease caused by protozoan parasites from Leishmania genus. Currently, there are no effective vaccines available and the available therapies are far from ideal. In particular, the development of new therapeutic strategies to reduce the infection caused by Leishmania amazonensis could be considered desirable. Different plant-derived products have demonstrated antileishmanial activity, including the essential oil (EO) from Artemisia absinthium L. (EO-Aa), Asteraceae. Methods: In the present study, the EO-Aa formulated in nanocochleates (EO-Aa-NC) was investigated in vitro against intracellular amastigotes of L. amazonensis and non-infected macrophages from BALB/c mice. In addition, the EO-Aa-NC was also evaluated in vivo against on experimental cutaneous leishmaniasis, which body weight, lesion progression, and parasite load were determined. Results: EO-Aa-NC displayed IC50 values of 21.5 ± 2.5 μg/mL and 27.7 ± 5.6 μg/mL against intracellular amastigotes of L. amazonensis and non-infected peritoneal macrophage, respectively. In the animal model, the EO-Aa-NC (30 mg/kg/intralesional route/every 4 days 4 times) showed no deaths or weight loss greater than 10%. In parallel, the EO-Aa-NC suppressed the infection in the murine model by approximately 50%, which was statistically superior (p < 0.05) than controls and mice treated with EO-Aa. In comparison with Glucantime®, EO-Aa-NC inhibited the progression of infection as efficiently (p > 0.05) as administration of the reference drug. Conclusions: Encochleation of EO-Aa resulted in a stable, tolerable, and efficacious antileishmanial formulation, facilitating systemic delivery of EO, with increased activity compared to administration of the free EO-Aa. This new formulation shows promising potential to future studies aimed at a new therapeutic strategy to treat leishmaniasis

Urticaria crónica asociada a Helicobacter pylori Chronic urticaria associated with Helycobacter pylori

Se efectuó un estudio descriptivo y prospectivo de 51 pacientes con diagnóstico de urticaria crónica, atendidos en la consulta de Dermatología del Hospital General Docente "Dr. Juan Bruno Zayas Alfonso" de Santiago de Cuba, durante el primer semestre del 2008, para identificar las causas de dicha afección. Se utilizó el porcentaje como medida de resumen y la prueba del Ji al cuadrado, considerando su significación cuando p A descriptive and prospective study was carried out in 51 patients diagnosed with chronic urticaria, who were attended at the Outpatient Dermatology Department of "Dr. Juan Bruno Zayas Alfonso" Teaching General Hospital of Santiago de Cuba during the first semester of 2008 to identify the etiology of this condition. The percentage as a summary measure and the chi-square test were used, considering their significance when p <0, 05. Female sex prevailed in the case material and Helicobacter pylori-positive gastric biopsies were found

Bixa orellana L. (Bixaceae) and Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin &amp; Clemants (Amaranthaceae) Essential Oils Formulated in Nanocochleates against Leishmania amazonensis

Leishmaniasis is a group of neglected tropical diseases caused by protozoan parasites of the Leishmania genus. The absence of effective vaccines and the limitations of current treatments make the search for effective therapies a real need. Different plant-derived essential oils (EOs) have shown antileishmanial effects, in particular from Bixa orellana L. (EO-Bo) and Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin &amp; Clemants (EO-Da). In the present study, the EO-Bo and EO-Da, formulated in nanocochleates (EO-Bo-NC and EO-Da-NC, respectively), were evaluated in vitro and in vivo against L. amazonensis. The EO-Bo-NC and EO-Da-NC did not increase the in vitro inhibitory activity of the EOs, although the EO-Bo-NC showed reduced cytotoxic effects. In the animal model, both formulations (30 mg/kg/intralesional route/every 4 days/4 times) showed no deaths or weight loss greater than 10%. In the animal (mouse) model, EO-Bo-NC contributed to the control of infection (p &lt; 0.05) in comparison with EO-Bo treatment, while the mice treated with EO-Da-NC exhibited larger lesions (p &lt; 0.05) compared to those treated with EO-Da. The enhanced in vivo activity observed for EO-Bo-NC suggests that lipid-based nanoformulations like nanocochleates should be explored for their potential in the proper delivery of drugs, and in particular, the delivery of hydrophobic materials for effective cutaneous leishmaniasis treatment

In vitro antileishmanial activity of Mexican medicinal plants

Aim of the study: To evaluate the anti-leishmanial activity and cytotoxicity of aqueous and organic extracts of ten plants used in Mexican traditional medicine as anti-parasitics. Materials and methods: For the organic extracts, plant material was macerated in dichloromethane (CH2Cl2) and dichloromethane/methanol (CH2Cl2/MeOH) (1:1) during two weeks; the aqueous extracts were prepared by infusion. The extracts were tested against promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes of Leishmania amazonensis. The cytotoxicity was assayed in parallel on peritoneal macrophages of BALB/c mice. Results: Four of the thirty extracts tested were active and selective against L. amazonensis promastigotes: Schinus molle (CH2Cl2 and CH2Cl2/MeOH), Lantana camara (CH2Cl2) and Prosopis laevigata (aqueous). These extracts had a median inhibitory concentration (IC50) against intracellular amastigotes under 50 μg/mL and a selectivity index (SI) higher than 5, which indicates that they constitute valuable candidates to obtain secondary metabolites with leishmanicidal activity. Conclusions: The results derived from this study indicate that L. camara, P. laevigata, and S. molle might provide interesting new leads for the development of antileishmanial drugs