In Vivo Therapeutic Effects of Four Synthesized Antileishmanial Nanodrugs in the Treatment of Leishmaniasis

Nowadays, nanocarriers are used for leishmaniasis treatment due to development of drug resistance and several side effects with conventional therapeutics. In this study we aimed to evaluate in vivo effects of four synthesized nanodrugs including amphotericin B-nanochitosan (AK), betulinic acid-nanochitosan (BK), amphotericin B-dendrimer (AD), and betulinic acid-dendrimer (BD) in the treatment of Leishmania major infection (L. major) in mice model by using pathological analyses to choose the most effective nanodrug in leishmaniasis. The four nanodrugs efficacy in the improvement of L. major lesion in a mice model was evaluated by using pathological analyses including measurement of organs size and parasite number. Additionally, the nanodrugs toxicity was evaluated by measurement of various blood factors. The histopathological results of the present study showed that BK, at the dose of 20 mg/kg, and AK, at the dose of 10 mg/kg, were more effective in decreasing the parasite number in the kidney, liver, and spleen. Moreover, BK20 mg/kg and AK10 mg/kg decreased the organs size significantly while AD50 mg/kg and BD40 mg/kg were less effective. However, none of the four nanodrugs had increased the blood factors and they were not toxic. Overall, the pathologic findings of various mice organs treated with different formulations showed that AK10 mg/kg and BK20 mg/kg were more effective in recovery of L. major’s pathological effects in comparison to AD50 mg/kg and BD40 mg/kg. Therefore, it seems that AK and BK, in this mentioned dosage, could be considered as a proper candidate for treatment of leishmaniasis.