Antileishmanial and Antitrypanosomal Activities of the 8-Aminoquinoline Tafenoquine

The 8-aminoquinoline tafenoquine showed significant in vitro activity against Leishmania species, including L. donovani amastigotes in macrophages, with 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC(50)s) between 0.1 and 4.0 mu M for both pentavalent antimony (SbV)-sensitive and SbV-resistant strains and by oral administration in BALB/c mice, with 50% effective dose (ED50) values of 1.2 to 3.5 mg/kg for 5 days. Tafenoquine was less active against intracellular Trypanosoma cruzi amastigotes, with an IC50 of 21.9 mu M.