Effect of aqueous Allium cepa and ixora brachiata root extract on Leishmania major promastigotes

Background: leishmaniasis is a major worldwide public health problem with about two to three million humans threatened by this disease annually. allium cepa (onion) is an important dietary vegetable and was used as a herbal medicine for centuries. the root of ixora brachiata is medicinally important. objectives: the aim of this study was to investigate the anti-leishmania effect of the ethanolic and methanolic extracts of ixora brachiata root and aqueous onion extracts on leishmania major promastigotes. patients and methods: the parasites isolated from cutaneous leishmaniasis were exposed with different concentrations of selected plant extracts and their inhibitory effects on the promastigotes were evaluated after 24 and 48 hours. results: among tested plant extracts,ixora brachiata root extracts revealed the best activity against leishmania major promastigotes with ic100 value of 2.5 mg/ml and ic50 value of 0.078 mg/ml. conclusions: this study showed that aqueous allium cepa and ixora brachiata root extracts as natural products could be used as alternative drugs in treatment of leishmaniasis. © 2014,school of pharmacy,ahvaz jundishapur university of medical sciences.