ANTILEISHMANIAL ACTIVITY OF LICOCHALCONE A IN MICE INFECTED WITH LEISHMANIA-MAJOR AND IN HAMSTERS INFECTED WITH LEISHMANIA-DONOVANI

This study was designed to examine the antileishmanial activity of the oxygenated chalcone licochalcone A in mice acid hamsters infected wit h Leishmania parasites. Intraperitoneal administration of licochalcone A at doses of 2.5 and 5 mg/kg of body weight per day completely preve nted lesion development in BALB/c mice infected with Leishmania major. Treatment of hamsters infected with L. donovani with intraperitoneal administration of licochalcone A at a dose of 20 mg/kg of body weight per day for 6 consecutive days resulted in a >96% reduction of parasit e load in the liver and the spleen compared with values for untreated control animals. The [H-3]thymidine uptake hv the parasites isolated f rom the treated hamsters was only about 1% of that observed in parasit es isolated from the controls. Oral administration of licochalcone A a t concentrations of 5 to 150 mg/kg of body weight per day for 6 consec utive days resulted in >65 and 85% reductions of L. donovani parasite loads in the liver and the spleen, respectively, compared with those o f untreated control hamsters. These data clearly demonstrate that lico chalcone A is a promising lead for the development of a new drug again st leishmaniases.