Evaluation of the Cytotoxicity Effect of <i>Chaerophyllum</i> Extract on <i>Leishmania </i><i>major</i> and J774 Cell Line in Vitro

Abstract

Background: Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) is a serious threat to many endemic regions of the world, which may lead to some complications such as secondary infections, permanent scars, etc. Although there are available drugs, i.e. pentavalent antimony compounds for the treatment of CL, they are expensive, have side effects and/or there may be some drug-resistant species. Therefore, there is a tantalizing field of study to discover novel compounds against CL. In this study, we evaluated the leishmanicidal effects of Chaerophyllum plant extract on Leishmania major promastigotes in vitro. Methods: In each sterile 96-well plate, a volume of 100 λ of promastigotes was added. The three first wells lacked drug but contained drug solvents. Then, various concentrations of Chaerophyllum extract (6.25, 12.5, 25, 50, 100 and 200 µg/mL) were added to the parasite culture. Subsequently, the percentage of cytotoxicity of promastigotes and J774 macrophages were evaluated by the Microculture Tetrazolium Test (MTT) method. Also, the percentage of J774 macrophage apoptosis was assessed by flow cytometry. Results: The IC50 of Chaerophyllum extract was 80.62 µg/mL after 24 hours. The percentage of cytotoxicity of promastigotes and J774 macrophages after adding Chaerophyllum extract was 91% and 45%, respectively, by MTT. The percentage of apoptosis (early and late apoptosis) in macrophages induced by 50 and 100 μg/mL of Chaerophyllum extract after 24 hours was 0.01%, 0.13%, 0.01% and 0.1%, respectively. Conclusions: According to the MTT test, the concentration of 200 μg/mL of Chaerophyllum extract with 90% cytotoxicity was promising against L. major promastigotes and further studies are recommended to evaluate the effects of this plant.