Antileishmanial Compounds from Moringa oleifera Lam.

Abstract

The antileishmanial activity of extracts and phytoconstituents of Moringa oleifera Lam: was investigated in vitro against promastigotes of Leishmania donavani. The 70%ethanolic extract of roots and the methanolic extract of leaves showed moderate inhibitory activity with IC50 values of 83:0 μg/ml and 47:5 μg/ml, respectively. Antileishmanial activity of the methanolic extract of leaves increased upon fractionation, as its ethyl acetate fraction was found to be more active with an IC50 value of 27:5 mg=ml. The most active antileishmanial compound niazinin, a thiocarbamate glycoside isolated from this fraction, showed an IC50 value of 5:25 mM. Results presented in this study indicate that extracts from M. oleifera may be developed as an adjuvant therapy for the treatment of leishmaniasis.