The therapeutic effects of olive leaf extract on Leishmania major infection in BALB/c mice

Abstract

At present, no effective vaccine has been found for CL; thus, the upgrading and improvement of the present drugs and development of the novel agents have been demonstrated to be the merely control choice for this disease. The present study aims to evaluate the effects of olive leaf extract (Olea europaea L. OLE) on Leishmania major infection in BALB/c mice. OLE tested on cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in male BALB/c mice with L. major promastigotes (MRHO/IR/75/ER) at the doses of 10, 20, and 30 mg/kg. Results demonstrated that after treatment of the groups with the concentrations of 10, 20, and 40 mg/ kg of OLE, mean diameter of lesions was reduced by 2.16, 5.87, and 7.61 cm, respectively. Moreover, after 4 weeks of treatment, 83.3%, 66.64%, and 33.32% recovery was observed in the infected mice treated with 40, 20, and 10 mg/kg of OLE, respectively. In conclusion, the present study showed OLE has potent therapeutic effects on cutaneous leishmaniasis.