In Vitro Leishmanicital Activity of Momordicafoetida against Leishmania Major

Cutaneous leishmaniasis is caused by different species of leishmania and produces a skin ulcer that heals spontaneously in most cases, leaving scar. The antileishmanial activity of extracts of M. foetida (family Cucubitaceae), a known traditional therapy and one of the commonly used medicinal plants in Kenya was evaluated. Methanolic and aqueous extracts of this plant were tested for possible antileishmanial activity in vitro. Different concentration of methanol and aqueous extracts of M. foetida were tested against Leishmania major promastigotes and amastigotes. The inhibitory concentration (IC50) on promastigotes, percentage rates of macrophages infected by amastigotes and cytotoxicological concentration (CC50) effects on vero cells were determined. Data were analyzed using Statgraphic, for antileishmanial activities within and between all groups, the t-test and ANOVA analysis were used respectively. The results showed that M. foetida extracts significantly (P less than 0.05) produced inhibition activities against L. major promastigotes and amastigotes compared to controls. The Minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) for aqueous extracts (125g/ml) significantly demonstrated higher inhibitory factor than that of methanolic extracts (250g/ml) by 125 units. Antileishmanial activities significantly (P less than 0.05) increase with the increase in concentrations of M. foetida extracts. The extracts had no significant toxicity (P greater than 0.05) against vero cells compared to standard reference drugs and did not stimulate the macrophages to produce sufficient amount of nitric oxide, hence the extract could be having active compounds that act directly on parasites, therefore, supports its traditional use as antileishmanial remedy and it should also be tested against other species of the parasite such as L. donovani, L. tropica and L. aethiopica.