Immunological Response against Leishmaniamajor Parasites with Pyrethrum Extracts

Leishmaniasis is a neglected vector borne disease caused by Leishmania parasites affecting mostly the poor populations of developing countries. Pyrethrum has been shown to have antiviral, antiplasmodial and antitrypanosomal activities, but no reports on antileishmanial activity. Therefore we sought to determine the levels of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and interleukin 4 (IL-4) cytokines after treatment of infected BALB/c mice with water and methanolic extracts of pyrethrins. IFN-γ and IL-4 cytokines were quantified using ELISA array kit from serum of BALB/c mice. Water and methanol extracts of pyrethrin stimulated production of high IFN-γ and low levels of IL-4 compared to untreated (P<0.05). However methanol extracts stimulated more IFN- γ compared to water extracts but not significant (P=0.4). Methanol extracts stimulated significantly less IL-4 compared to water extracts (P=0.032).Methanol and water extracts stimulated less IFN- γ and IL-4 as compared to pentostam and amphotericin B but not significant (P>0.05). This data suggests that water and methanol extracts of pyrethrin stimulates IFN- γ, an inflammatory cytokine against Leishmania parasites. The extracts can be good candidate for further chemothepeutic studies against Leishmania parasites.

Keywords: Leishmaniasis, cytokines, antileishmanial activity, extracts of pyrethrum, chemotherapeutic.