Antileishmanial Activity of Myrtle Methanolic Extract against Leishmania major: an In Vitro Study

Background and Aim: In this study we assessed the in vitro antileishmanial activity of myrtle (Myrtus communis L.) methanolic extract against Leishmania major.Materials and Methods: The in vitro antileishmanial effects of myrtle methanolic extract against L. major promastigote and amastigotes were determined by colorimetric cell viability (MTT) assay and macrophage model, respectively. The IC50 values were also calculated by probit test in SPSS software.Results:The obtained results showed that myrtle extract was significantly inhibited promastigote growth of L. major based on a dose and time dependent manner. The measured IC50 values for myrtle methanolic extract and MA as control drug against promastigote forms of L. major were 23.6 µg/mL and 88.3 µg/mL, respectively. The obtained IC50 values were 13.8 µg/mL and 44.6µg/mL for the myrtle essential oil and MA, respectively. Conclusion: This investigation showed antileishmanial effect of myrtle against promastigote and amastigote forms of L. major. However, further studies are needed to confirm these results by checking in the animal models and volunteer human.