Abstract
Sixteen methanolic extracts obtained from thirteen plant species, selected either from ethnobotanical or chemotaxonomical data, were screened for their antileishmanial activity against
Leishmania amazonensis
. The cytotoxic activity against normal peritoneal macrophages from normal BALB/c mice was also determined. Eight extracts had IC
50
values ranging from <12.5 to 37.8
µ
g/mL against promastigotes.
Achillea biebersteinii
flower,
Euphorbia helioscopia,
and
Solanum incanum
leaf extracts showed antileishmanial activities with IC
50
between <12.5–26.9
µ
g/mL and acceptable selectivity indices of 8–5. The other leishmanicidal plant extracts, with IC
50
ranging from 18.0 to 29.5
µ
g/mL, exhibited low selectivity indices.