Evaluation of Antileishmanial Activity of Albaha Medicinal Plants against Leishmania amazonensis

Sixteen methanolic extracts obtained from thirteen plant species, selected either from ethnobotanical or chemotaxonomical data, were screened for their antileishmanial activity against Leishmania amazonensis. The cytotoxic activity against normal peritoneal macrophages from normal BALB/c mice was also determined. Eight extracts had IC(50) values ranging from <12.5 to 37.8 µg/mL against promastigotes. Achillea biebersteinii flower, Euphorbia helioscopia, and Solanum incanum leaf extracts showed antileishmanial activities with IC(50) between <12.5–26.9 µg/mL and acceptable selectivity indices of 8–5. The other leishmanicidal plant extracts, with IC(50) ranging from 18.0 to 29.5 µg/mL, exhibited low selectivity indices.