ANTILEISHMANIAL ACTIVITY OF COMPOUNDS EXTRACTED AND CHARACTERIZED FROM CENTROLOBIUM-SCLEROPHYLLUM

Drugs derived from plants, which had not been tested up to now in tryp anosomatids, were studied. The compounds extracted from Centrolobium s clerophyllum, Leguminosae, were two diarylheptanoids, yphenyl)-tetrahy dropyran)-ethyl]-6Ca-hydroxyphenyl and -hydroxy-1,7-bis-(4',4''-dibydr oxyphenyl)-heptane, and one isoflavonoid, 7,3'-dihydroxy-4'-methoxy-is oflavone. Extracellular forms (promastigotes) of Leishmania amazonensi s were assayed in presence of these compounds and the results showed t hat both diarylheptanoids and the isoflavonoid had a good antileishman ial activity with the LD50 = 77 nM, LD50 = 86nM and LD50 = 140nM, resp ectively. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.