An ethanolic extract of leaves of Piper betle (Paan) Linn mediates its antileishmanial activity via apoptosis

Avijit Sarkar, Rupashree Sen, Piu Saha, Sudipto Ganguly, Goutam Mandal, Mitali Chatterjee

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

52 Scopus citations

Abstract

An unprecedented increase in the incidence of unresponsiveness to antimonial compounds has highlighted the urgent need to develop new antileishmanial agents. The leaves of Piper betle (locally known as Paan) have long been in use in the Indian indigenous system of medicine for its antimicrobial properties but its antileishmanial potential has not been studied. Accordingly, an ethanolic extract of leaves of Piper betle (PB) was tested for its antileishmanial activity that was evidenced in both promastigotes and amastigotes, with IC50 values of 9.8 and 5.45 μg/ml, respectively; importantly, it was accompanied by a safety index of >12-fold. This leishmanicidal activity of PB was mediated via apoptosis as evidenced by morphological changes, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, in situ labeling of DNA fragments by terminal deoxyribonucleotidyltransferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end labeling, and cell-cycle arrest at the sub-G0/G1 phase. Taken together, the data indicate that PB has promising antileishmanial activity that is mediated via programmed cell death and, accordingly, merits consideration and further investigation as a therapeutic option for the treatment of leishmaniasis.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1249-1255
Number of pages7
JournalParasitology Research
Volume102
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2008
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Parasitology
  • General Veterinary
  • Insect Science
  • Infectious Diseases

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