Boswellic Acids Show In Vitro Activity against Leishmania donovani

In continuation of our search for leads from medicinal plants against protozoal pathogens, we detected antileishmanial activity in polar fractions of a dichloromethane extract from Boswellia serrata resin. 11-keto-beta-boswellic acid (KBA) could be isolated from these fractions and was tested in vitro against Leishmania donovani axenic amastigotes along with five further boswellic acid derivatives. 3-O-acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid (AKBA) showed the strongest activity with an IC50 value of 0.88 mu M against axenic amastigotes but was inactive against intracellular amastigotes in murine macrophages

Automated summary

In the search for leads from medicinal plants against protozoal pathogens, antileishmanial activity was found in polar fractions of a dichloromethane extract from Boswellia serrata resin. Among the tested compounds, 3-O-acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid (AKBA) showed the strongest activity against Leishmania donovani axenic amastigotes.