Evaluation of the killing effect of chitosan and chitosanamphotericinB in vitro and in vivo

Background and Aim : Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a neglected tropical disease (NTD),caused by a protozoan of the genus Leishmania, which are transmitted through the bite of femalesand flies. Considering the resistance outbreaks to drugs conventionally used in CL therapies anddifferential responses to the current treatments, there is a continuing and urgent need for newtherapies against leishmaniasis that are safe and effective in inducing a long-term cure. In recentyears, the focus on herbal and natural compound in medicine, especially in the treatment ofmicrobial infections, has increased rapidly.Methods : In this experimental study, anti-leishmanial effects of chitosan and chitosan-loadedamphotericin B were assessed. The anti-leishmanial activities on promastigotes were assessedusing vital staining and infected BALB/c mice were used to assess the in vivo anti-leishmanialeffects. Cytotoxic effects of chitosan and chitosan-amphotericin B (different concentration) on theL۹۲۹ cell line was confirmed by an MTT assay and the in vitro hemolytic activity was performedby spectrophotometric method.Results : The results of in- vitro study revealed that chitosan-loaded amphotericin had valuableinhibitory effects against Leishmania major in comparison to each of chitosan and amphotericin Balone (P<۰.۰۵). Also the results of in vivo assay showed that the chitosan-loaded amphotericin- Bhas a synergistic effect to wound size decrease.Conclusion : The results of this in vitro and in vivo study showed that chitosan has very acceptableanti-leishmanial effects, which are greatly increased by the addition of amphotericin B.

کلیدواژه ها:

killing effect ، Leishmania major ، chitosan ، amphotericin B