EVALUATION OF THE ANTILEISHMANIAL EFFICACY OF MEDICINAL PLANT CHENOPODIUM ALBUM LINN. AGAINST EXPERIMENTAL VISCERAL LEISHMANIASIS Original Article

Objective: Visceral leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease resulting in death if not properly treated. The ongoing search for better leishmanicidal compounds has brought herbal drugs into the limelight as safe and effective substitutes to conventional therapies which have various drawbacks. The current study was designed to evaluate the antileishmanial efficacy of medicinal plant Chenopodium album Linn. against Leishmania donovani in inbred BALB/c mice. Methods: Inbred BALB/c mice were infected intravenously with 1x107 Results: The animals treated with methanolic extracts of C. album, revealed a significant reduction in parasite load. These animals also showed heightened delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) response and increased IgG2a as an indicator of protective Th1 type of immune response. Moreover, the liver and kidney function tests were found to be in the normal range. Leishmania donovani promastigotes and kept for 30 d. These animals were then treated with two doses (500 mg/kg body wt. and 1000 mg/kg body wt.) of methanolic extracts of C. album orally for 7 d. Conclusion: Hence the drug proved to be a good antileishmanial, but further studies recommended before it is to be tested in higher animal models.