Background: Recent circumstantial evidences are suggesting that an increasing number of Iranian patients with cu­taneous leishmaniasis are unresponsive to meglumine antimoniate (Glucantime®). Pistacia atlantica is native plant in Iran (central, western, and eastern regions). Gum obtained Pistacia atlantica has been reported to possess consid­erable in vitro antimicrobial activity. In this study, we aimed to investigate antileishmanial activity of P. atlantica .
Methods : Male BALB/c mice were inoculated subcutaneously 2×10⁶ L. major Promastigotes (MHROM/IR/75/ER) at the base of tail in 2007. Mice were randomly divided into 3 groups. in group 1 Glucantime® was administered to the BALB/c mice in regimen of 60 mg per kg of body weight for 28 days by intraperitoneal injections per day, in group 2 the gum of P. atlantica var . Kurdica were tested by rubbing of local lesions for 28 days, group 3 infected but non-treated. Comparisons of treated groups and untreated group were done by two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).
Results : Topically rubbing administration of gum obtained P. atlantica var. kurdica daily for 28 days like Glucan­time® decreased skin lesion size in the BALB/c mice infected with L.major compared with that in the control ( P < 0.01). Treatment BALB/c mice with gum obtained P. atlantica var. kurdica and Glucantime® causes decrease num­ber of parasitologicaly positive mice ( P < 0.05).
Conclusion : Our results show that gum obtained P. atlantica var. kurdica can be used for controlling cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by L.major and inhibiting development of cutaneous leishmaniasis lesions