Table 1.
Immunomodulatory antileishmanial plant extracts or purified molecules thereof.
| Plant extracts/purified compounds/secondary metabolites/herbal medicines | Leishmania strain | Concentration (in vitro)/dose regimen (in vivo) | Immunomodulatory mechanism | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asparagus racemosus (whole plant) | L. donovani (Dd8) | b650 mg/kg b.w. +cisplatin (5 mg/kg b.w.) for 5 days i.p. | ↑ INF-γ, IL-2, IgG2a | Sachdeva et al. (54) |
| ↓ IL-4, IL-10, IgG1 | ||||
| Induced DTH response | ||||
| Allium sativum in combination with Tridax procumbens | Leishmania major [Hd-18-(MHET/MX/97/Hd-18)] | b40 mg/kg b.w. (1:1) i.p. daily for 2 weeks | ↑ IgG2a/IgG1 ratio | Gamboa-Leon et al. (55) |
| Galactomannan (isolated from seeds of Mimosa scabrella) | Leishmania amazonensis (MHOM/BR173/M2269) | 250 μg/ml | ↑ IL-1β, IL-6 and NO production | Adriazola et al. (56) |
| TNF-α and IL-10 levels unaffected | ||||
| aLicarin A (neolignan, plant secondary metabolite) | L. major (MHOM/IL/1980/FN) | 5 and 20 μg/ml | ↓ IL-6 and IL-10 | Néris et al. (57) |
| No significant alterations in TNF-α and NO levels | ||||
| Niranthrin (lignan isolated from aerial parts of Phyllanthus amarus) | L. donovani (MHOM/IN/1983/AG83) | b5 and 10 mg/kg b.w. twice for 3 weeks | ↑ NO, ROS, iNOS | Chowdhury et al. (58) |
| Induced lymphoproliferation | ||||
| ↑ IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-12p70 | ||||
| ↑ IgG2a levels | ||||
| ↓ IL-10 and TGF-β | ||||
| No change in IL-4 expression and IgG1 | ||||
| aBerberine chloride (quaternary isoquinoline alkaloid) | L. donovani isolate (NS2) | 2.5 and 10 μM | ↑ NO production | Saha et al. (59) |
| Activated iNOS | ||||
| ↑ mRNA expression of IL-12p40 | ||||
| ↓ IL-10 | ||||
| Upregulated p38 MAPK pathway | ||||
| Picroliv (iridoid glycoside mixture from Picrorhiza kurroa) in combination with fluconazole and miltefosine | L. donovani (MHOM/IN/80/Dd8) | Picroliv (10 mg/kg) + Fluconazole (50 mg/kg) + Miltefosine (5 mg/kg b.w.) in hamsters | Induced lymphoproliferation | Shakya et al. (60) |
| ↑ ROS, hydrogen peroxide, RNS | ||||
| ↑ Phagocytic activity | ||||
| Spiranthera odoratissima (fruit hexane extract and its alkaloid Skimmianine) | Leishmania braziliensis | 1.6 μg/ml | ↑ NO production | Dos Santos et al. (61) |
| ↓ IL-10 production | ||||
| Echium amoenum (flowers-aqueous and alcoholic extracts) | L. major (MRHO/IR/75/ER) | b250, 750, and 3750 mg/kg b.w. | ↑ IFN-γ | Hosseini and Abolhassani (62) |
| Induced lymphoproliferation | ||||
| IL-4 levels unaffected | ||||
| A. sativum (aqueous extract) | L. major (MRHO/IR/75/ER) | 37 mg/ml | ↑ INF-γ and iNOS mRNA expression levels | Gharavi et al. (63) |
| A.sativum (aqueous extract) | L. major (MRHO/IR/75/ER) | 37 mg/ml | ↑ IL-12 | Gharavi et al. (64) |
| ↓ IL-10 | ||||
| aArtemisinin (sesquiterpene lactone from Artemisia annua) | L. donovani | 10 and 25 μM | ↑ NO production | Sen et al. (65) |
| b10 and 25 mg/kg b.w. | ↑ IL-12 and IFN-γ | |||
| Kalanchoe pinnata (leaves-aqueous extract) | Leishmania chagasi | b400 mg/kg b.w. by intragastric gavage from day 1–29 of infection | Depressed serum IgG levels | Gomes et al. (66) |
| ↓ IL-4, INF-γ | ||||
| ↑ NO production | ||||
| Warburgia ugandensis, Psiadia punctulata, and Chasmanthera dependens (bark-aqueous extract) | L. major (IDU/KE/83 = NLB-144) | 1000 μg/ml | ↑ NO production | Githinji et al. (67) |
| Himatanthus sucuuba latex | L. amazonensis (WHOM/BR/75/Josefa strain) | 200 μg/ml | ↑ TNF-α and NO production | Soares et al. (68) |
| ↓ TGF-β | ||||
| A.sativum (methanolic extract) | L. donovani (NLB065) | 250 μg/ml | ↑ NO production | Wabwoba et al. (69) |
| Xylopia discreta (leaf methanolic extract and essential oil) | L. panamensis (MHOM/CO/87/UA140) | Different concentrations | ↑ Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) expression | López et al. (70) |
| aQuassin (one of the quassinoids isolated from Quassia amara) | L. donovani (MHOM/IN/1983/AG83) | 25 μg/ml | ↑ iNOS2 expression | Bhattacharjee et al. (71) |
| ↑ TNF-α, and IL-12p70 | ||||
| ↓ TGF-β and IL-10 | ||||
| A.sativum (aqueous extract) | Leishmania mexicana (MNYC/BZ/62/M379) | 37 μg/ml | ↑ NO production | Gamboa-León et al. (72) |
| b20 and 60 mg/kg b.w. for 2 weeks i.p. | ↑ IFN-γ | |||
| Pelargonium sidoides (aqueous-ethanolic formulation of roots and methanol insoluble fraction of this extract) | L. major | 50 μg/ml | ↑ iNOS activity ↑ IFN-γ, IL-12, IL-18 mRNA levels | Trun et al. (73) |
| aPlant polyphenols (Tannins and structurally related compounds) | L. major and L. donovani promastigotes | Different concentrations | Moderate effect on NO production ↑ TNF and INF like activities | Kolodziej and Kiderlen (74) |
| Desmodium gangeticum (Aminoglucosyl glycerolipid and Cerebroside) | L. donovani | 100 μg/ml | ↑ NO production | Mishra et al. (75) |
| Canova medication (Aconitum napellus, Arsenium album, Bryonia alba, and Thuya occidentalis) | L. amazonensis (MHOM/BR/73/M2269) | 20 and 40% | ↑ NO production | Pereira et al. (76) |
| Croton cajucara (Essential oil) | L. amazonensis (Raimundo strain, MHOM/BR/76/Ma-5) | 1, 1.5, and 0.2 ng/ml | ↑ NO production | do Socorro et al. (77) |
| A.sativum extract | L. major (MRHO/IR/76/ER) | bGarlic (20 mg/kg b.w.) +glucantime (60 mg/kg b.w.) daily for 2 weeks | ↑ IFN-γ and IL-2 ↓IL-4 and IL-10 | Ghazanfari et al. (78) |
a Synthetic molecules of plant origin.
b Studies carried out in BALB/c mice.