In Vivo Therapeutic Effects of Four Synthesized Antileishmanial Nanodrugs in the Treatment of Leishmaniasis

background: nowadays, nanocarriers are used for leishmaniasis treatment due to development of drug resistance and several side effects with conventional therapeutics. objectives: in this studyweaimed to evaluate in vivo effects of four synthesized nanodrugs including amphotericin b-nanochitosan (ak), betulinic acid-nanochitosan (bk), amphotericin b-dendrimer (ad), and betulinic acid-dendrimer (bd) in the treatment of leishmania major infection (l. major) in mice model by using pathological analyses to choose the most effective nanodrug in leishmaniasis. methods: the four nanodrugs efficacy in the improvement of l. major lesion in a mice model was evaluated by using pathological analyses including measurement of organs size and parasite number. additionally, the nanodrugs toxicity was evaluated by measurement of various blood factors. results: the histopathological results of the present study showed that bk, at the dose of 20 mg/kg, and ak, at the dose of 10 mg/kg, were more effective in decreasing the parasite number in the kidney, liver, and spleen. moreover, bk20 mg/kg and ak10 mg/kg decreased the organs size significantly while ad50 mg/kg and bd40 mg/kg were less effective. however, none of the four nanodrugs had increased the blood factors and they were not toxic. conclusions: overall, the pathologic findings of various mice organs treated with different formulations showed that ak10 mg/kg and bk20 mg/kg were more effective in recovery of l. major’s pathological effects in comparison to ad50 mg/kg and bd40 mg/kg. therefore, it seems that ak and bk, in this mentioned dosage, could be considered as a proper candidate for treatment of leishmaniasis.