Journal of School of Public Health and

Background and aim: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is endemic in Iran and many other countries. The use of pentavalent antimony compounds for the treatment of this disease is associated with serious side effects. There have been reports of the effect of the extract of Berberis vulgaris root on leishmania major, both in vitro and in vivo. The goal of the present study was to investigate the effect of an alcoholic extract of this plant on experimental L. major ulcers in BALB/c mice. The experiment was conducted in 2006 by the Department of Parasitology, Kashan University of Medical sciences.

Materials and Methods: We used different concentrations of an alcoholic extract of Berberis vulgaris in the form of an ointment. Ninety BALB/c mice received a subcutaneous inoculation of 0.1 ml liquid-phase culture of infective L. major (MRHO/IR/75/ER standard variety) in the base of their tail. Ulcers appeared after 30-35 days and these were divided into 5 groups: 3 groups received treatment with 20%, 40%, and 80% concentrations and the remaining 2 groups served as controls. The extract was used applied topically, three times a day for 30 days. Each weak we measured the diameter of the lesions and the animals' weight. After preparation and staining, we determined the number of parasites in lesions through microscopic examinations. Results were recorded on paper and analyzed with the use of Student's t and Fisher's exact tests as well as analysis of variance and Tokey's post-hoc tests.

Results: With the 20% preparation: By the end of the treatment period, the mean diameter of the lesions had decreased, with complete healing in 5 mice (27.7%), (p< 0.001). By the time of the decrease in diameter, the mean weight of the animals had increased and the number of parasites in the lesions had declined (80%). Total elimination of the parasites was observed in 12 animals (p<0.001).
At a concentration of 40%: Mean ulcer diameter decreased, with complete healing in 2 mice (11.1%, p<0.001). By the time of the decrease in diameter, the mean weight of the mice had increased (p<0.05). The mean number of parasites in lesions decreased (64.3%), with total elimination in 9 animals (p< 0.05).

Conclusion: We showed that the extract of Berberis vulgaris is most effective at a concentration of 20%, causing greater reductions in both ulcer diameter and the number of parasites in the lesions compared to other preparations. Therefore, we suggest the use of a 20% extract for the treatment of human cases.

Background and Aim: Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease transmitted by sand-flies. Seventeen out of the 30 Iranian provinces are contaminated. Although many therapeutic modalities have been suggested, no definite treatment for this widespread infection is available. Many drugs currently used for cutaneous leishmaniasis have their side effects and create complications-drug resistance, etc. This has prompted researchers to get interested in drugs of a natural origin. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the efficacies of an extract of propolis and systemic glucantime against cutaneous leishmaniasis in Balb/c mice.

Materials and Methods: Groups of inbred, female Balb/c mice, aged 4-6 weeks, were inoculated with 1.6 × 10 6 viable stationary-phase promastigotes in the base of tail. The mice were provided by Iran Pasteur Institute, Tehran and were randomized into three groups of 9 mice each. Groups 1 to 3 were treated with pure 70% ethanol, systemic glucantime, or the propolis hydroalcoholic extract for a 6-week period the 4th group served as control. The statistical tests including student t-test were used for data analysis.

Results: Overall, 27 mice were studied. We did not observe any statistically significant difference among the groups with regard to the size of the ulcer at the beginning (P>0.01). At the end f the period, there was a significant difference with regard to reduction of ulcer size between the propolis extract and glucantime groups in favor of the propolis extract (P= 0.001). Further analysis of the data showed that the largest reduction in the ulcer size was caused by the propolis extract, as compared with the control, glucantime and alcohol groups.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that the propolis extract is more effective in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis in mice. We suggest that the efficacy of this extract alone or in combination with drugs be assessed against human cutaneous leishmaniasis, using randomized clinical trials.