Clinical Efficacy Associated with Enhanced Antioxidant Enzyme Activities of Silver Nanoparticles Biosynthesized Using Moringa oleifera Leaf Extract, Against Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in a Murine Model of Leishmania major

Manal El-khadragy, Ebtesam M. Alolayan, Dina M. Metwally, Mohamed F. Serag El-Din, Sara S. Alobud, Nour I. Alsultan, Sarah S. Alsaif, Manal A. Awad and Ahmed E. Abdel Moneim
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Manal El-khadragy: Chair Vaccines Research of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Ebtesam M. Alolayan: Chair Vaccines Research of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Dina M. Metwally: Chair Vaccines Research of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Mohamed F. Serag El-Din: Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Faculty of Home Economics, Minufiya University, Shebin ElKom 32511, Egypt
Sara S. Alobud: Faculty of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Nour I. Alsultan: Faculty of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Sarah S. Alsaif: Chair Vaccines Research of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Manal A. Awad: King Abdullah Institute for Nanotechnology, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Ahmed E. Abdel Moneim: Department of Zoology and Entomology, Faculty of Science, Helwan University, Cairo 11795, Egypt

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 5, 1-14

Abstract: Leishmaniasis is one of the most significant vector-borne syndromes of individuals. This parasitic infection can be affected by many species of Leishmania, most of which are zoonotic. Natural products have made and are continuing to make important contributions to the search for new antileishmanial agents. The use of plants in the production assembly of silver nanoparticles has drawn attention because of its rapid, eco-friendly, non-pathogenic, economical protocol and provides a single step technique for the biosynthetic process. Hence, we aimed to biosynthesize silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) using Moringa oleifera leaf extract and investigated the antileishmanial activity of these nanoparticles in a murine model of Leishmania major infection. A total of 50 mice were used and divided into five groups—healthy control, infected, infected mice treated with pentostam, infected mice treated with Ag-NPs and infected mice pretreated with Ag-NPs. In the present study, the leaf extract of the plant species Moringa oleifera was found to be a good source for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles, their formation being confirmed by color change and stability in solution. In the present murine model of Leishmania major infection, we found that oral treatment with silver nanoparticles biosynthesized using Moringa oleifera extract resulted in a significant reduction in the average size of leishmaniasis cutaneous lesions compared with untreated mice. Furthermore, the clinical efficacy of Moringa oleifera extract was associated with enhanced antioxidant enzyme activities. In conclusion, treatment with silver nanoparticles biosynthesized using Moringa oleifera extract has higher and faster clinical efficacy than standard pentavalent antimonial treatment, probably by boosting the endogenous antioxidant activity.

Keywords: cutaneous leishmaniasis; silver nanoparticles; Moringa oleifera; antioxidant; gene expression (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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