Folk Treatments

[ANDRADE at NPD.UFPE.BR]

Dear Deborah Salazar

	Once Phillip Marsden told me at a Meeting on Leishmaniasis here in
Recife that a physician in Bahia tried to confirm, under his supervision, the real
efficiency of some 20 or 30 different plant extracts used in the folk medicine in
Brazil against cutaneous leishmaniasis. The study was performed in the State
of Bahia and as a result none of the drugs had a curative effect. I do not know
his e-mail address but maybe Dr. Jeffrey Shaw has it
(J.SHAW at PHOENIX.FTPT.BR). Dr Marsden is one of the leading scientists in
leishmaniasis research and has a large experience in field work on
leishmaniasis. I think he is still at the Universidade de Brasilia, Brazil, but
maybe he retired by now. As far as visceral leishmaniasis is concerned, I've
never heard of contributions of folk medicine for that.  I will try to send you in
the text below the references I found in my data bank on the subject. There is
also a paper on the Parasitology Today last year but I cant get it from the
databank for some reason

Yours, kindly
Paulo Paes de Andrade
Departamento de Genetica/ Universidde Federal de Pernambuco/  RECIFE/
Pernambuco/ Brazil

TI: Intralesional treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis with sodium
stibogluconate antimony.
AU: Faris-RM; Jarallah-JS; Khoja-TA; al-Yamani-MJ
SO: Int-J-Dermatol. 1993 Aug; 32(8): 610-2
AB: BACKGROUND. Cutaneous leishmaniasis represents a difficult disease to
manage in endemic areas. Systemic treatment is hampered by both expense
and compliance. Side effects may play a major role in this aspect as well.
METHODS. The effectiveness of intralesional treatment of leishmaniasis was
investigated. Seven hundred and ten patients were treated with injections of
sodium stibogluconate intralesionally. The clinical diagnosis was confirmed by
demonstrating the parasite in the smears obtained from the lesion. Fine insulin
needle was used to infiltrate the lesion with sodium stibogluconate (0.5 to 1.0
mL). RESULTS. Generally eight injections were sufficient, but some of the
complicated lesions needed up to 24 injections. Sixty-two percent of patients
were men. The majority of the study population (64%) were children below 15
years of age. The results showed that 72% of lesions healed completely,
23.9% showed some improvement, while 4.1% showed some deterioration.
Lesions of the lips, cheeks, chin, and neck healed faster than lesions in other
parts of the body. Side effects were mild and limited to pain at the site of the
injection and hyperpigmentation in those who were treated by folk medicine.
CONCLUSIONS. Intralesional treatment is as effective as the standard
systemic antimonials. It offers a less expensive alternative and a low side
effects profile. Our findings confirmed the findings of earlier workers. It is
recommended for treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis in endemic areas.

TI: Leishmanicidal and trypanocidal activities of Bolivian medicinal plants.
AU: Fournet-A; Barrios-AA; Munoz-V
SO: J-Ethnopharmacol. 1994 Jan; 41(1-2): 19-37
AB: Cutaneous and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis are endemic diseases in
South America, especially in the subandean areas of the humid lowlands of
Bolivia. Fourteen plants used topically in folk medicine to treat cutaneous
leishmaniasis were collected in the tropical regions of colonization and in the
rain forest occupied by Chimane Indians. Three of four plants used by the
Chimane Indians exhibited an in vitro activity against three species of
Leishmania. Two of ten plants used by the colonists showed an in vitro activity.
We have also included results obtained with extracts from 53 Bolivian
medicinal plants used for other diseases and from 43 plants collected with
basis of chemotaxonomic criteria from all parts of Bolivia. All extracts were also
screened in vitro against three strains of Trypanosoma cruzi
(Trypanosomatidae), the causative agent of Chagas' disease.

TI: Effect of natural naphthoquinones in BALB/c mice infected with Leishmania
amazonensis and L. venezuelensis.
AU: Fournet-A; Barrios-AA; Munoz-V; Hocquemiller-R; Cave-A
SO: Trop-Med-Parasitol. 1992 Dec; 43(4): 219-22
AB: Plumbagin, 3,3'-biplumbagin and 8,8'-biplumbagin are naphthoquinones
isolated by activity-directed fractionation from a Bolivian plant, Pera benensis,
used in folk medicine as treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by
Leishmania braziliensis. BALB/c mice were infected with L. mexicana or L.
venezuelensis and treated 24 h after the parasitic infection with plumbagin (5
or 2.5 mg/kg/day), 3,3'-biplumbagin, 8,8'-biplumbagin (25 mg/kg/d) or
Glucantime (200 mg/kg/d). Lesion development was the criteria employed to
evaluate the inhibitory effect. The bis-naphthoquinones were less potent than
Glucantime against L. amazonensis and L. venezuelensis. Plubagin and
Glucantime delayed the development of L. amazonensis and L. venezuelensis.
Assays of a single local treatment on foot-pad infection two weeks after the
parasitic inoculation with L. amazonensis showed that 8,8'-biplumbagin (50
mg/kg/d) was as potent as Glucantime (400 mg/kg/d).

TI: Biological and chemical studies of Pera benensis, a Bolivian plant used in
folk medicine as a treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis.
AU: Fournet-A; Angelo-A; Munoz-V; Roblot-F; Hocquemiller-R; Cave-A
SO: J-Ethnopharmacol. 1992 Sep; 37(2): 159-64
AB: The stem barks of Pera benensis are employed by the Chimane Indians in
the Bolivian Amazonia as treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by the
protozoan Leishmania braziliensis. The chloroform extracts containing
quinones were found active against the promastigote forms of Leishmania and
the epimastigote forms of Trypanosoma cruzi at 10 micrograms ml-1. The
activity guided fractionation of the extract by chromatography afforded active
compounds. Their structures were elucidated, by spectral and chemical
studies, as known naphthoquinones, plumbagin, 3,3'-biplumbagin, 8-8'-
biplumbagin, and triterpene, lupeol. The activity in vitro of each compound was
evaluated against 5 strains of Leishmania (promastigote), 6 strains of
Trypanosoma cruzi (epimastigote) and the intracellular form (amastigote) of
Leishmania amazonensis. The baseline drugs used were Glucantime and
pentamidine (Leishmania spp.), nifurtimox and benznidazole (T. cruzi).
Plumbagin was the most active compound in vitro. This study has
demonstrated that Pera benensis, a medicinal plant used in folk medicine, is
an efficient treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis.

TI: The failure of traditionally used desert plants to act against cutaneous
leishmaniasis in experimental animals.
AU: Lockman-Y; Vardy-D; Ohayon-D; el-On-J
SO: Ann-Trop-Med-Parasitol. 1991 Oct; 85(5): 499-501
AB: Several desert plants that are traditionally used by the Bedouin community
as folkloristic treatment for skin diseases were examined for their efficacy
against cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in BALB/c mice. Water and chloroform
extracts made from these plants were incorporated into cetomacrogol and soft
white paraffin respectively and some were supplemented with DMSO. These
preparations were applied twice daily for up to 30 days to CL lesions caused by
Leishmania major. None of the extracts tested showed any leishmanicidal
effect.

TI: [Active antihelminitic alkaloids: active in vitro against Leishmanic Tropica
the protozoa involved in leishmaniasis.]
TO: Activite antiparasitaire d'alcaloides bisbenzylisoquinoleiques. I: Activite in
vitro sur des promastigotes de trois souches de Leishmania.
AU: Fournet-A; Munoz-V; Manjon-AM; Angelo-A; Hocquemiller-R; Cortes-D;
Cave-A; Bruneton-J
SO: J-Ethnopharmacol. 1988 Dec; 24(2-3): 327-35
PY: 1988
AB: Leishmaniasis caused by protozoan Leishmania ssp., is an endemic
parasitic disease in Central and South America. The chemotherapeutic agents
against Leishmania ssp. (pentavalent antimony compounds, pentamidine and
amphothericine B) are toxic and expensive products. Basing on the Bolivian
folk medicine, we tried to find new active principles. Fourteen isoquinoline
alkaloids, especially bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloids extracted from
Annonaceae, Berberidaceae, Hernandiaceae and Menispermaceae,
demonstrate highly effective activity against this protozoan. Among them
gyrocarpine, daphnandrine and obaberine seem to be of particular interest.
The therapeutic effect was studied by biological assays on culture forms in vitro
three strains of Leishmania, L. donovani, L. braziliensis (cutaneous and
mucocutaneous leishmaniasis), L. mexicana amazonensis (cutaneous) and L.
donovani (visceral leishmaniasis).

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Good luck! Greetings.