Abstract
We tested a mixture of Tridax procumbens, known for its direct action against Leishmania mexicana, and Allium sativum, known for its immunomodulatory effect, as an alternative to treat cutaneous leishmaniasis. Acute oral toxicity was tested with the Up-and-Down Procedure (UDP) using a group of healthy mice administered with either T. procumbens or A. sativum extracts and compared with a control group. Liver injury and other parameters of toxicity were determined in mice at day 14. The in vivo assay was performed with mice infected with L. mexicana promastigotes and treated with either a mixture of T. procumbens and A. sativum or each extract separately. The thickness of the mice’s footpads was measured weekly. After the 12-week period of infection, blood samples were obtained by cardiac puncture to determine the total IgG, IgG1 and IgG2a immunoglobulins by a noncommercial indirect ELISA. We showed that the mixture of T. procumbens and A. sativum extracts was better at controlling L. mexicana infection while not being toxic when tested in the acute oral toxicity assay in mice. An increase in the ratio of IgG2a/IgG1 indicated a tendency to raise a Th1-type immune response in mice treated with the mixture. The mixture of T. procumbens and A. sativum extracts is a promising natural treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis and its healing effects make it a good candidate for a possible new phytomedicine.
Highlights
In the acute oral toxicity study of T. procumbens methanol and A. sativum aqueous extracts, none of the animals died during the assay or showed signs and symptoms of toxicity up to a dose of 2000 mg/kg
The results of the toxicity assay showed that the limit dose of 2000 mg/kg was innocuous to mice, and they were consistent with another toxicity study which demonstrated that T. procumbens methanol extract was not toxic at 5 g/kg body weight in rats, confirming a high margin of safety [23]
The simultaneous application of the mixed extract (T. procumbens and A. sativum extracts) avoided the development of a lesion; to our knowledge, there are no other studies reported using a mixture of two bioactive plant extracts against Leishmania spp
Summary
The disease caused by infection with Leishmania parasites has an important impact worldwide, with up to 200 million new. There is an urgent need for new leishmanicidal drugs and it is known that medicinal plants are an important source of new molecules with pharmacological activities [10, 24, 29]; several plants have been used as treatment for ‘‘chiclero’s ulcer’’ in Mayan traditional medicine. T. procumbens was chosen for further chemical, in vitro and in vivo studies. T. procumbens was selected for further in vivo studies
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