Antileishmanial potential of medicinal plant extracts from the North-West of Morocco

The aim of this study is to evaluate the antileishmanial activity of selected medicinal plants from the North-West of Morocco. Plant extracts were prepared by maceration using methanol, ethanol, and n-hexane. The antileishmanial activity was evaluated against Leishmania major, Leishmania tropica, and Leishmania infantum using MTT (3-(4.5-dimethylthiazol-2yl)-2.5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay. All plant extracts showed a reducing in cell promastigotes viability with variability depending on tested strains and type of extracts. The n-hexane extract showed the highest antileishmanial activity and L. infantum was the most sensitive parasite. The best growth inhibition was observed with Cistus crispus n-hexane extract against L. major (IC50 = 47.29 ± 2.25 μg/mL), Arbutus unedo n-hexane extract against L. infantum (IC50 = 64.05 ± 1.44 μg/mL) and Arbutus unedo n-hexane extract against L. tropica (IC50 = 79.57 ± 2.66 μg/mL). Considering these results, medicinal plants from the North-West of Morocco could constitute a promoter source for antileishmanial compounds.