Cytotoxicity of Miltefosine against Leishmania majorPromastigotes
Leishmaniasis has poor vaccination trials and the available drugs have side effects on patients. Therefore
development ofnew chemicals is important for public health. Miltefosine is the first drug used for oral treatment of visceral leishmaniasis.Previous studies approved that miltefosine is an effective treatment against visceral leishmaniasis
the visceral form ofLeishmania
and also on L. major
the cutaneous form of Leishmania. Here
we investigated the in vitro cytotoxicity ofmiltefosine on the procyclic promastigotes forms of L. major. Different concentrations of miltefosine were investigatedagainst the flagellated form of L. major
and results showed that miltefosine has inhibited the in vitro proliferation of theparasite
approving the cytotoxic effect of the compound on Leishmania
EC50 was determined after 24 hours exposure forthe drug and it was 1.54 μM. Our findings indicate that miltefosine has a cytotoxic effect on the insect stage of the old worldL. major and can be a new anti-Leishmanial drug