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In vitro Evaluation of Antileishmanial Activity and Toxicity of Essential Oils of Artemisia absinthium and Echinops kebericho
Author(s) -
Tariku Yinebeb,
Hymete Ariaya,
Hailu Asrat,
Rohloff Jens
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
chemistry and biodiversity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.427
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1612-1880
pISSN - 1612-1872
DOI - 10.1002/cbdv.201000331
Subject(s) - amastigote , chemistry , camphor , sesquiterpene lactone , essential oil , traditional medicine , artemisia , pulegone , monoterpene , sesquiterpene , leishmania , food science , stereochemistry , biochemistry , organic chemistry , parasite hosting , medicine , world wide web , computer science
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.