Oral and intralesional efficacy of ascaridole in BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice infected with Leishmania amazonensis

Abstract

Introduction: Leishmaniasis parasitosis caused by species of protozoa of the genus Leishmania is a health problem of worldwide incidence included in the list of neglected tropical diseases. The use of conventional drugs is limited by their high cost, development of resistance and occurrence of adverse effects. Previous studies demonstrated the efficacy of intralesional ascaridole in experimental cutaneous leishmaniasis in BALB/c mice and recommended further evaluation of in vivo antileishmanial properties of this endoperoxide.

Objective: To evaluate the potentialities of ascaridole in two models of experimental cutaneous leishmaniasis based on BALB/c (susceptible) and C57BL/6 (resistant) mice.

Methods: Weight variation, lesion size evolution and parasite load were measured in BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice infected with L. amazonensis and treated orally or intralesionally, with five 30 mg/kg treatments every four days.

Results: In both models, animals treated with ascaridole showed smaller lesion sizes and parasite load than the untreated infected group (p < 0.05) and comparable to Glucantime (p > 0.05), the reference drug. In the model C57BL/6 - L. amazonensis, the ability of ascaridole to control the development of the disease after intralesional administration was highlighted.

Conclusions: The in vivo potentialities of ascaridole on L. amazonensis are demonstrated. It is recommended to explore this drug in the design of new drugs for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis.