title: Antileishmanial activity of licochalcone A in mice infected with Leishmania major and in hamsters infected with Leishmania donovani.
abstract: This study was designed to examine the antileishmanial activity of the oxygenated chalcone licochalcone A in mice and hamsters infected with Leishmania parasites. Intraperitoneal administration of licochalcone A at doses of 2.5 and 5 mg/kg of body weight per day completely prevented lesion development in BALB/c mice infected with Leishmania major. Treatment of hamsters infected with L. donovani with intraperitoneal administration of licochalcone A at a dose of 20 mg/kg of body weight per day for 6 consecutive days resulted in a > 96% reduction of parasite load in the liver and the spleen compared with values for untreated control animals. The [3H]thymidine uptake by the parasites isolated from the treated hamsters was only about 1% of that observed in parasites isolated from the controls. Oral administration of licochalcone A at concentrations of 5 to 150 mg/kg of body weight per day for 6 consecutive days resulted in > 65 and 85% reductions of L. donovani parasite loads in the liver and the spleen, respectively, compared with those of untreated control hamsters. These data clearly demonstrate that licochalcone A is a promising lead for the development of a new drug against leishmaniases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology, National University Hospital (Rigshospitalet), Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Christensen
authors.forename: T G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Theander
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kharazmi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002599:Chalcone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D047188:Chalcones; D006224:Cricetinae; D005260:Female; D007893:Leishmania donovani / Q000187:drug effects*; D018320:Leishmania major / Q000187:drug effects*; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000188:drug therapy*; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008099:Liver / Q000469:parasitology; D008297:Male; D008647:Mesocricetus; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D013154:Spleen / Q000469:parasitology
chemical_list: D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents; D047188:Chalcones; D002599:Chalcone; C070840:licochalcone A