Evaluation of Anti-Leishmanial Effect of Three Native Marine Animals Extract of Persian Gulf in Vitro Condition

Background & aim: Treatment of leishmaniasis has been identified as the seventh research priority by WHO.Despite the many studies that have been conducted in this regard, there is still no specific treatment for it.Therefore, the side effects of conventional drugs and the emergence of parasite resistance have made their use an important challenge.Recently, extensive studies have been conducted on extracts and various plant compounds against the parasite Leishmania, and even the use of drugs with marine sources has been considered due to the side effects and lower cost and greater adaptation of patients to these drugs.The aim of the present study was to determine and evaluate the anti-leishmanial effect of three native marine animals' extract of Persian Gulf in vitro condition. Methods:In this experimental study conducted in 2017-2018, all three organisms were collected from the coastal waters of Bushehr province.After separation of crust and viscera, they were extracted by percolation method and using different solvents.The anti-leishmanial effects and the degree of cytotoxicity of these products were evaluated on the promastigote form of Leishmania major and vero cells, based on the biochemical test of MTT assay respectively.The collected data were analyzed using LSD statistical test at the statistical level of one percent.Results: Statistical analysis indicated that the extract type and the concentrations used (dose) had a very significant effect.Correspondingly, the dual interactions effect of extract and dose, extract and solvent, as well as the triple interaction of extract, solvent and dose were significant on the inhibitory rate.The highest anti-leishmanial activity was related to methanolic extracts of Holothuria parva's shell (88.65%) and Echinometra matheai's viscera (87.48%) at 800μg/ml concentrations, and the lowest activity was obtained in aqueous extract of Ophiocoma scolopendrina (43.01%) at 20μg/ml concentration.Conclusion: All types of shell extracts and viscera of the three studied marine organisms have anti-leishmanial effects, among which, the highest lethality was related to methanolic extracts of sea cucumber shell and sea urchin viscera.Moreover, all types of extracts had very low toxicity to host cells and therefore had the ability to be commercialized in the form of effective drugs after additional in vitro studies.