title: In vitro evaluation of antileishmanial activity and toxicity of essential oils of Artemisia absinthium and Echinops kebericho.
abstract: Potential toxicity, costs, and drug-resistant pathogens necessitate the development of new antileishmanial agents. Medicinal and aromatic plants constitute a major source of natural organic compounds. In this study, essential oils of Artemisia absinthium L. and Echinops kebericho Mesfin were investigated by GC and GC/MS analyses. Isolated oils were screened for antileishmanial activity against two Leishmania strains (L. aethiopica and L. donovani), and toxicity on the human monocytic leukemia (THP-1) cell line and red blood cells in vitro. GC/MS Analysis revealed 65 compounds (93.74%) for Artemisia absinthium and 43 compounds (92.85%) for Echinops kebericho oil. The oils contained the oxygenated monoterpene camphor (27.40%) and the sesquiterpene lactone dehydrocostus lactone (41.83%) as major constituents, respectively. Both oils showed activity against promastigote (MIC 0.0097-0.1565 μl/ml) and axenic amastigote forms (EC(50) 0.24-42.00 nl/ml) of both leishmania species. Weak hemolytic effect was observed for both oils, showing a slightly decreased selectivity index (SI 0.8-19.2) against the THP-1 cell line. Among the two oils tested, E. kebericho exerted strong antileishmanial activity that was even higher than that of amphotericin B with significant cytotoxicity. This study, therefore, demonstrated the potential use of both oils as source of novel agents for the treatment of leishmaniasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, College of Natural Science, Jimma University, P.O. Box 378, Jimma, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: Yinebeb
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tariku
authors.forename: Ariaya
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hymete
authors.forename: Asrat
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hailu
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rohloff
mesh_terms: D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D031171:Artemisia absinthium / Q000737:chemistry*; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D031182:Echinops Plant / Q000737:chemistry*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006461:Hemolysis / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007891:Leishmania / Q000187:drug effects*; D007896:Leishmaniasis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents; D009822:Oils, Volatile