Abstract
Stibogluconate sodium and meglumine antimoniate are the main antimonials utilised as the primary treatment option for leishmaniasis. However, have a number of side effects that limit their use. Development of nanoparticles (NPs) use in biological research and remarkable antimicrobial effects and unique optical and structural properties of CaO NPs have motivated this study to evaluated the effect of different times/dilutions of CaO NPs on Leishmania tropica and Leishmania infantum. To evaluate the antileishmanial activity of CaO NPs, the cytotoxic effect of CaO NPs against L. tropica and L. infantum amastigotes, promastigotes, as well as macrophages, was evaluated using counting and MTT assay after adding different concentrations of CaO nanoparticles (800–6.25 μg/ml) to the parasite culture. The possible apoptosis by CaO NPs were evaluated via flow cytometry assay. The XRD-pattern related to CaO nanoparticles indicating the cubic phase structures. According the effects of nanoparticle on promastigotes the IC50 values of CaO nanoparticles within 72 h were 19.81 μg/ml for L. tropica and 22.57 μg/ml for L. infantum. The percentage of the normal, apoptotic, and necrotic cells was estimated to be 82.6%, 14.81%, and 2.69% for L. tropica, and 73.6%, 23.89%, and 2.58% for L. infantum, respectively. Our results showed acceptable in vitro activity level of CaO NPs against L. tropica and L. infantum promastigotes as well as intracellular amastigotes. CaO NPs were more effective against L. infantum compared to L. tropica in vitro study