Topical formulation of Oseltamivir promotes clinical improvement and reduction of parasite load in BALB/c mice infected with Leishmania major

Abstract

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania, the conventional treatments are expensives, high adverse reactions and long-term parenteral administration This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic potential of the antiviral Oseltamivir (Osv) in microemulsion in the topical treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis in BALB/c mice infected with Leishmania major. After infection, the mice were divided into five groups (Control, Amphotericin B 3 %, Osv 0.5 %, Osv 1 % and Osv 1 %+Amphotericin B 1.5 %) and treated for 21 days. Clinical parameters, such as body weight and lesion size, in addition to parasite load, hematological, biochemical and histopathological analyses were evaluated. A significant reduction in the parasite load was observed in the groups treated with Oseltamivir and Amphotericin B (70 %–76.5 %), when compared to the control group (95 %). Clinical evaluation showed fewer lesions in the treatment groups compared to the control group. Although Amphotericin B alone caused liver and kidney toxicity, treatment with Oseltamivir, alone or in combination with Amphotericin B, did not show any toxicity. In histopathological examination, the groups treated with Oseltamivir showed lower degrees of histopathological alterations. Thus, Oseltamivir, as monotherapy or in combination with Amphotericin B, proved to be effective and safe, representing a promising alternative in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis.