Activity of compounds isolated from Chilean lichens against experimental cutaneous leishmaniasis.
Three secondary metabolites isolated from Chilean lichens, (+) usnic acid, pannarine and 1'-chloropannarine, were tested against promastigotes forms of three strains of Leishmania ssp. Pannarine and 1'-chloropannarine exhibited in vitro activity at 50 micrograms/ml and (+) usnic acid at 25 micrograms/ml. BALB/c mice infected with Leishmania amazonensis were treated 4 weeks post-infection with (+) usnic acid by subcutaneous or oral routes for 15 days at 25 mg/kg or by five intralesional injections at interval of 4 days at 25 mg/kg of body weight. The reference drug, N-methylglucamine antimonate (Glucantime), was administered by subcutaneous injections (regimens of 28 mg of pentavalent antimony) for 15 days. The subcutaneous and oral treatments with (+) usnic did not produce any effect, but by intralesional administration we observed a significant effect that reduced by 43.34% the weight lesions and by 72.28% the parasites loads in infected footpads.
Fournet
A
A
ORSTOM (Institut Français de Recherche Scientifique pour le Développement en Coopération), Asunción, Paraguay. fournet@uil31.una.py
Ferreira
M E
ME
Rojas de Arias
A
A
Torres de Ortiz
S
S
Inchausti
A
A
Yaluff
G
G
Quilhot
W
W
Fernandez
E
E
Hidalgo
M E
ME
D000818:Animals; D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001572:Benzofurans / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001584:Benzoxepins / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D053630:Depsides; D005260:Female; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008011:Lichens / Q000737:chemistry*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C
D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents; D001572:Benzofurans; D001584:Benzoxepins; D053630:Depsides; C073339:usnic acid; C058444:argopsin; C085355:pannarin