ABSTRACT
New oral treatments are needed for all forms of leishmaniasis. Here, the improved oral efficacy of quercetin (Qc) and its penta-acetylated derivative (PQc) was evaluated in cutaneous leishmaniasis after encapsulation in lipid-core nanocapsules (LNCs) of poly(ε-caprolactone). Leishmania amazonensis-infected BALB/c mice were given 51 daily oral doses of free drugs (16 mg kg-1) or LNC-loaded drugs (0·4 mg kg-1). While treatment with free Qc reduced the lesion sizes and parasite loads by 38 and 71%, respectively, LNC-Qc produced 64 and 91% reduction, respectively. The antileishmanial efficacy of PQc was similar but not as potently improved by encapsulation as Qc. None of the treatments increased aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase or creatinine serum levels. These findings indicate that when encapsulated in LNC, Qc and, to a lesser extent, PQc can safely produce an enhanced antileishmanial effect even at a 40-fold lower dose, with implications for the development of a new oral drug for cutaneous leishmaniasis.
Subject(s)
Leishmania mexicana/drug effects , Nanocapsules , Polyesters/analysis , Quercetin/pharmacology , Trypanocidal Agents/pharmacology , Animals , Female , Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous/drug therapy , Lipids/analysis , Mice , Mice, Inbred BALB CABSTRACT
A series of 55 salicylamides, including 3,5-dibromo-, 5-n-alkyl-, and 5-n-acylsalicyloyl derivatives of various anilines, heterocyclic amines, benzylamines, and alkylamines, was synthesized and evaluated for in vitro antibacterial activity against Actinomyces viscosus, an adherent oral microorganism implicated in periodontal disease. The in vitro minimum inhibitory concentrations of 15 4'-bromosalicylanilides were found to correlate (r = 0.92) with estimated log D values. Several nonhalogenated salicylanilides, such as 5-n-hexyl- (40) and 5-n-decanoyl-4'-nitrosalicylanilide (47), were found to exhibit higher levels of in vitro antibacterial activity against a number of Actinomycetes than did tribromsalan (1) or fluorophene (2).
