Sesquiterpene Lactone in Nanostructured Parenteral Dosage Form Is Efficacious in Experimental Chagas Disease

The drugs available for Chagas disease treatment are toxic and ineffective. We studied thein vivo activity of a new drug, lychnopholide (LYC). LYC was loaded in nanocapsules (NC), and its effects were compared to free LYC and benznidazole againstTrypanosoma cruzi . Infected mice were treated in the acute phase at 2.0 mg/kg/day with free LYC, LYC-poly-ε-caprolactone NC (LYC-PCL), and LYC-poly(lactic acid)-co-polyethylene glycol NC (LYC-PLA-PEG) or at 50 mg/kg/day with benznidazole solution by the intravenous route. Animals infected with the CL strain, treated 24 h after infection for 10 days, evaluated by hemoculture, PCR, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay exhibited a 50% parasitological cure when treated with LYC-PCL NC and 100% cure when treated with benznidazole, but 100% of the animals treated during the prepatent period for 20 days with these formulations or LYC-PLA-PEG NC were cured. In animals with the Y strain treated 24 h after infection for 10 days, only mice treated by LYC-PCL NC were cured, but animals treated in the prepatent period for 20 days exhibited 100, 75, and 62.5% cure when treated with LYC-PLA-PEG NC, benznidazole, and LYC-PCL NC, respectively. Free LYC reduced the parasitemia and improved mice survival, but no mice were cured. LYC-loaded NC showed higher cure rates, reduced parasitemia, and increased survival when used in doses 2five times lower than those used for benznidazole. This study confirms that LYC is a potential new treatment for Chagas disease. Furthermore, the long-circulating property of PLA-PEG NC and its ability to improve LYC efficacy showed that this formulation is more effective in reaching the parasitein vivo .