Leishmanicidal activity of saponins isolated from the leaves of Eclipta prostrata and Gymnema sylvestre

Khanna, Venkatesan Gopiesh, Kannabiran, Krishnan and Getti, Giulia (2009) Leishmanicidal activity of saponins isolated from the leaves of Eclipta prostrata and Gymnema sylvestre. Indian Journal of Pharmacology, 41 (1). pp. 32-35. ISSN 0253-7613 (print), 1998-3751 (online)

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the leishmanicidal activity of saponin, dasyscyphin C of Eclipta prostrata and sapogenin, gymnemagenol from Gymnema sylvestre leaves under in vitro conditions.
Materials and Methods: Dasyscyphin C/Gymnemagenol were dissolved in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and diluted with liquid medium to obtain concentrations ranging from 1000 to 15 µg /ml. The leishmanicidal activity against leishmanial parasites, Leishmania major, Leishmania aethiopica and Leishmania tropica promastigotes was studied by the MTS assay.
Result: The Dasyscyphin C isolated from E. prostrata showed good leishmanicidal activity at 1000µg/ml concentration, with the IC 50 value of 450µg/ml against L. major promastigote and the percentage of parasitic death was 73; whereas, gymnemagenol of G. sylvestre showed only 52% parasitic death at 1000 µg/ml concentration. The other Leishmania species, L. aethiopica and L. tropica promastigotes, were less sensitive to the saponins of E. prostrata and G. sylvestre.
Conclusion: From this study, it can be concluded that the dasyscyphin C of E. prostrata has significant leishmanicidal activity against L. major promastigote.

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