Vitamin C Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Vitamin C, including details on benefits, dosage, supplements, information.

Leishmania major and Leishmania tropica: I the in vitro effects of an immunomodulator, S2-Complex.

Al-Mulla Hummadi YM, Najim RA, Al-Bashir NM

Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of Baghdad, P.O. Box 61208, Baghdad 12114, Iraq.

This study was undertaken to try to determine the possible anti-leishmanial activity of S2-Complex, an organic complex of copper chloride, ascorbic acid, and nicotinamide. The promastigotes, axenic amastigotes, and intracellular amastigotes of both Leishmania major and Leishmania tropica were incubated with different concentrations of S2-Complex. The EC50 for each form was calculated. Results show that all forms of the parasites were dose dependently inhibited by S2-Complex. The promastigotes of both parasites were the most resistant with highest EC50 followed by axenic amastigotes. While intracellular amastigotes were the most sensitive with the lowest EC50.These results indicate that S2-Complex has a direct anti-leishmanial effect. When mice were treated with S2-Complex or BCG for four days before harvesting the macrophages, and the macrophages infected with both L. major and L. tropica, they showed increased phagocytosis and increased parasite killing. The results of S2-Complex were not statistically different from the immunomodulating agent BCG. These results indicate that S2-Complex has an immunomodulating effect in addition to the direct anti-leishmanial effect.

Published 1 August 2005 in Exp Parasitol, 111(1): 47-54.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Vitamin C Research Today. All Rights Reserved.