A study on the cytotoxic effect of cantharidin on Leishmania major promastigote and amastigote survival in vitro

Leishmaniasis is one of the major public health problems in many countries. Cantharidin, a type of terpenoid and a potent vesicant found in the Meloidae and Oedemeridae beetle families, has been used to treat wart in traditional medicine. This study was carried out to examine the cytotoxic effect of cantharidin on the survival of promastigote and macrophage infected with Leishmania major in vitro.

This experimental study was performed on promastigote and infected macrophages (106 and 105 parasites/mL, respectively). The effect of cantharidin (0.5 -50 µg/mL) on Leishmania major promastigote and amastigote survival in vitro was determined using the 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay after 24, 48 and 72h.

Results showed that the cytotoxicity rate of cantharidin with concentrations of 50µg/mL and 0.5µg/mL in the promastigote, infected and non-infected macrophages after 72h were 49.86% and 14.26%; 29.97% and 2.33%; 22.86% and 15.23%, respectively.

Cantharidin has a cytotoxic effect on the promastigote and macrophages infected with Leishmania major. However, further studies are recommended to investigate the efficacy of this compound in vivo.