Treatment Role of Terpenoid Fraction of Perovskia abrotanoides Kar. on Zoonotic Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Animal Model

Leishmaniasis is one of the infectious diseases in tropical countries that is seen as cutaneous, mucocutaneous and visceral forms. Due to the side effects, costs and effectiveness of anti-leishmaniasis drugs, many clinical trials have been conducted on the importance of plant-based substances against leishmaniasis. Therefore, the following study was performed to evaluate the therapeutic effects of Perovskia abrotanoides Kar. terpenoid fraction on cutaneous leishmaniasis in Balb/c mice. The ethanol: water (80:20) extract of the plant flowers was fractionated by Medium Pressure Liquid Chromatography using RP-18 column. The terpenoid-rich fraction was detected by TLC and HNMR analyses and evaluated for healing effects on cutaneous leishmaniasis in mice with concentrations of 0.8%, 1.6% and 3.2 µg/mL. The effect of that was evaluated using ANOVA statistical tests. The results indicate that terpenoid of P. abrotanoides in 3.2% concentration is effective in treating cutaneous leishmaniasis in mice and also increases the lifespan and decreases the parasite burden of infected mice. According to this result, it is suggested that the effectiveness of this extract on the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis to be evaluated as a clinical trial in humans.