Effect of oral treatment with the essential oil from Chenopodium ambrosioides against cutaneous leishmaniasis in BALB/c mice, caused by Leishmania amazonensis.

BACKGROUND: The aromatic herb Chenopodium ambrosioides is widely known for its antiparasitic activity. The aim of this study was to investigate the antileishmanial effect of Chenopodium oil administered by the oral route at different doses and to compare its action to conventional, clinically used drugs.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: BALB/c mice were infected with Leishmania amazonensis and treated with 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 mg/kg of the essential oil for 15 days. A second experiment was performed to compare the antileishmanial effect of Chenopodium oil with glucantime (28 mg/kg), amphotericin B (1 mg/kg), and pentamidine (4 mg/kg), which were administered daily over 15 days by the intraperitoneal route.
RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were observed between BALB/c mice treated with all the doses of the product compared with untreated animals and the mice treated with the vehicle. A dose of 150 mg/kg was the most effective and no macroscopic toxic effects were observed. The size of lesion showed a linear correlation at each point (R > 0.8322), with a 50% effective concentration of 51.4 mg/kg. At 150 mg/kg, the essential oil showed better activity compared with animals treated with glucantime, amphotericin B, and pentamidine.
CONCLUSION: C. ambrosioides caused a promising therapeutic effect against cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by L. amazonensis, which could be explored to develop a new alternative treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis. (c) 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.