Comparing the Effectiveness of Pistachio Gum and Glucantime against Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in vitro

Cutaneous leishmaniasis is one of the most prevalent parasitic diseases. Glucantime is one of the most common drugs used for its treatment, but it has serious side effects, especially on the liver and kidney. As pistachio gum is used locally on a limited scale for Cutaneous Leishmaniasis, this article aimed to compare the effectiveness of pistachio gum and Glucantime against cutaneous leishmaniasis in vitro. The survival of Leishmania parasites that cause the cutaneous form of the disease was estimated for pistachio gum extract at 5% and 10% concentrations, and it was compared with Glucantime at different concentrations (100, 200, and 300 mg/ml), after one, 24, and 48 hours of incubation. Pistachio gum at 10% concentration surpassed all Glucantime concentrations during all tested periods. Glucantime at 300 mg/ml activity was equal to the pistachio gum extract 5% only after one hour of incubation. Glucantime (200 mg/ml and 100 mg/ml) was less effective than pistachio gum extract at all periods tested in this research. It was found that Pistachio gum is highly effective on Leishmania parasites.