An Effective Diaryl Derivative Against Leishmania amazonensis and its Influence on the Parasite X Macrophage Interaction

The activity of several diarylheptanoid derivatives (curcuminoids) was previously evaluated against Leishmania amazonensis promastigotes and among them the most active compound was 5-hydroxy-7- (4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1,4,6-heptatrien-3-one. This study was carried out to investigate the influence of this diaryl derivative on the infective promastigotes and Balb/c mice peritoneal macrophage interaction. The potential in?vitro toxicity was also evaluated. Promastigotes pretreated for 24?hours with the compound had their infective capacity significantly decreased. When the infection of Balb/c macrophage by L.?amazonensis promastigotes was already installed, addition of the drug resulted in a diminishing of the infection rate. It was demonstrated that the compound was not toxic to the host macrophage in a concentration equivalent to the LD₅₀/24?h from the previous in?vitro experiment.