Abstract

PINON TAPANES, Abel et al. In vitro evaluation of marine invertebrates extracts against Leishmania amazonensis. Rev Cubana Med Trop [online]. 2015, vol.67, n.3, pp. 0-0. ISSN 1561-3054.

Leishmaniasis is a parasitosis caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania. It is endemic in 98 countries, where the disease incidence is about two million new cases per year. The drugs used in the disease’s treatment have numerous toxic effects, high cost and a long application period; besides, the emergence of resistance to them is also added. Natural medicine and the use of natural resources are used as alternatives to current therapy. The study aims to evaluate the antileishmanial activity of 15 marine invertebrates extracts. For this, growth inhibition caused by the extracts against Leishmania amazonensis promastigotes and amastigotes was determined, together with its cytotoxicity against BALB/c mice peritoneal macrophages. Among the evaluated products, only four (26.7%) caused parasite growth inhibition, while only the Echinometra lucunter extract showed selectivity (SR=5) and activity against intracellular amastigotes (CI50=28.1±6.0 mg/ml). These promising results provide insights about the possibility of using Echinometra lucunter extract as an antileishmanial agent.

Keywords : marine invertebrates; leishmaniasis; tropical diseases.