Effects of silver nanoparticle based on ginger extract on Leishmania infantum and Leishmania tropica parasites : in vitro

Leishmania is the main cause of a serious public health problem called leishmaniasis in Iran. Pentavalent antimonial chemicals are usually used for leishmaniasis treatment. But this drugs have a number of negative side effects, including drug resistance, non-specificity, poor responsiveness, toxic effects, inconvenient injections, tissue damage and high cost. The aim of the present study was preparation and evaluation of the efficacy of green synthesized silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) against Leishmania infantum and Leishmania tropica in vitro. The MTT assay was used to assess the toxicity of Ag-NPs derived from ginger extract on macrophage cells. The apoptotic potential of promastigotes caused by Ag-NPs was evaluated using the flow cytometry method. According to our findings, proliferation of L. infantum and L. tropica, promastigotes are dramatically decreased by increasing doses of nanoparticles. The most effective doses of nanoparticle were 80 and 40 ppm after 48, and 72 hours of incubation respectively , while doses of 0.312 and 0.156 ppm after 24 and 48 hours of incubation had the least effect on the growth and activity of L. infantum and L. tropica promastigotes. For the promastigotes of L. infantum and L. tropica, the flow cytometry test revealed that Ag-NPs induced Programmed Cell Death (PCD) in promastigotes of L. infantum and L. tropica demonstrated 67.1% and 41.9% of apoptosis, respectively. The IC50 (inhibitory concentration) for NPs against L. infantum and L. tropica were 4.54 and 4.22 ppm, respectively based on MTT assay. The higher concentrations of NPs such as concentration 80 ppm, led to more lethality of promastigote. In conclusion, overall, Ag-NPs exhibited good in-vitro anti-leishmanial activity against L. infantum and L. tropica promastigotes.