Evaluation of antileishmanial activities of triglycerides isolated from roots of Moringa stenopetala

The objective of this study was to evaluate antileishmanial activities of compounds isolated from the roots of Moringa stenopetala. Two compounds were isolated from the crude petroleum ether:ethyl acetate (50:50 %) extract of its roots employing column chromatographic technique using a mixture of petroleum ether and ethyl acetate mixture in different polarity (or proportions by volume). The isolated compounds were labeled as MS-1 and MS-2. Their structures were determined to be triglycerides based on the observed spectroscopic (H-1-NMR, C-13-NMR, DEPT-135, and IR) data and reported data in literature. Thus, compound MS-1 and compound MS-2 were identified as 1,3-dilinoleoyl-2-olein and 1,3-dioleoyl-2-linolein, respectively. Evaluation of antileishmanial activities (IC50 values) of the compounds against promatigote stage of Leishmania aethiopica indicated that compound MS-1 to show comparable activity with the reference compounds (amphotericin B and miltefosine) whereas compound MS-2 to be less active. The activity test results against the amastigote stage of the parasite indicated that the compounds have comparable activities when compared to each other, and relatively lower activities as compared to that of the reference compounds. The results suggested that the compounds have promising antileishmanial activities. However, further in vivo tests are recommended before drawing any conclusion about the potential of the compounds as a new antileishmanial drug candidate.