Abstract
In this work we studied the in vitro toxicity of artemisinin and its chemical derivatives deoxoartemisinin, artemether and arteether against stationary phase promastigotes of Leishmania (L) mexicana. Results presented in this work include dramatic changes in parasite morphology when they were cultured in the presence of these chemicals. These changes were accompanied by the parasite's lost of mobility and eventual death after four days of culturing. We also observed that parasite growth was much more effectively reduced in cultures carried out in the presence of either artemisinin or its semi-synthetic derivatives than the reference drug N-methyl meglumine (Glucantime™, Rhone Poulenc, France). The compounds tested in this work were not toxic to Hela cells cultured in vitro. This is the first report describing the promising potential use of Qinghaosu (artemisinin) and related chemical analogues to treat L (L) mexicana infections.