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

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 in to 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 L donovani in inbred BALB/c mice. Methods: Inbred BALB/c mice were infected intravenously with 1x10 7 Leishmania donovani promastigotes and Kept for 30 days. These animals were then treated with two doses (500mg/kg body wt. and 1000mg/kg body wt.) of methanolic extracts of C. album  orally for 7 days. Results: The animals treated with methanolic extracts of C. album , revealed a significant reduction in parasite load. These animals also showed a heightened 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. Conclusion: Hence the drug proved to be a good antileishmanial but further studies recommended before it is to be tested in higher animal models.