In Vitro and in Vivo Therapeutic Evaluation of Ethanolic Extract of Sumac and Compounds of Linalool and Eugenol Against Localized Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Induced by Leishmania Major Publisher Pubmed



Aval SA ; Heidari A ; Mohebali M ; Attari MMA ; Baghaei A ; Kabir K ; Sezavar M ; Valogerdi MA
Source: Acta Parasitologica Published:2026

Abstract

Introduction: Cutaneous leishmaniasis remains a significant public health problem and continues to pose a substantial challenge to the healthcare system. First-line drugs, particularly pentavalent compounds, are used to treat this disease. The increasing drug resistance, the reduced efficacy of current therapies, and the high treatment costs. Have shifted the focus of research toward herbal remedies and natural products. This study sought to examine the possible antileishmanial properties of the ethanolic extract from R. coriaria and compounds of linalool and eugenol, both in vitro and in vivo against skin lesions caused by L. major in BALB/c mice. Methods: The CC50 toxicity and IC50 anti-leishmanial effect of linalool and eugenol were examined on the macrophage cell line and promastigotes. In the in vivo phase, a total of 54 mice were infected with L. major and treated. Three weeks after the end of treatment, parasitological and molecular examinations were performed using real-time PCR. Results: An in vitro study showed that linalool and eugenol had favorable lethality and toxicity values and were significantly correlated with the control group. According to the results of this study, the healing rates of lesions in the high-dose eugenol, low-dose linalool, and Glucantime® groups was 90.6%, 89.01%, and 85.58%, respectively. The results of the evaluations showed that the parasite load in the treated groups was significantly reduced. The reduction of specific KDNA gene expression and parasite load in the liver and spleen organs showed the degree of improvement and efficacy of the extract and compounds in real-time PCR. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the alcoholic extract of sumac and compounds of linalool and eugenol are effective in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis and offers a promising perspective for the development of herbal medicines with fewer side effects. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.