STUDY OF THERAPEUTIC EFFECT OF TRADITIONAL OINTMENT ON CUTANEOUS LEISHMANIASIS IN ANIMAL MODEL.

Leishmaniasis is an infectious disease that more than 12 million people suffer from it currently. Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is still an important public health problem in many parts of the world. No satisfactory treatment of the CL has been reported yet.

Materials & Methods: The therapeutic effect of an indigenous ointment under code of H.H.1125 was evaluated in Balb/c and C57BL/6 mice model that experimentally infected with L.major .The mice were infected with 2×106 L.major promastigotes (MRHO/IR/75/ER) at the base of the tail and then divided into three groups. The mice were treated twice a day for 30 days.

Results: The findings indicated that 80% of Balb/c mice in the test group were cured but there were no sign of healing in two other groups (P<0.05). In C57BL/6 the sign of infection appeared as a nodule and at the end of therapeutic period 100% of the mice were healed.

Conclusion : These results suggest that H.H.1125 is suitable for clinical studies and may represent an alternative formulation for topical treatment of CL.