Resumo

TAYLOR O, Viviana Milena; RIOS R, Yesmit Karina  e  LEON R, Daniel Arturo. Plants with photosensitizing activity and therapeutic potential in cutaneous leishmaniasis: Hypericin, a promising alternative. Infect. [online]. 2013, vol.17, n.2, pp.90-102. ISSN 0123-9392.

Leishmaniasis is a disease endemic to 98 countries, with over 350 million people at risk of acquiring the infection and 12 million people already infected. The numerous disadvantages associated with current treatments encourage a lack of adherence and even abandonment of the disease treatment, resulting in the emergence of drug-resistant strains. These factors have stimulated the search for therapeutic alternatives that are fast, safe, easy to administer and economical. This has resulted in the emergence of ethnobotany, which, along with phototherapy, could become an innovative strategy for finding naturally occurring compounds with leishmanicidal activity. In this context, products such as hypericin could be considered promising candidates in the discovery and development of new treatments. Hypericin is a naturally occurring molecule that has a high quantum yield in its triplet state and efficiently generates reactive oxygen species. These properties could make hypericin an effective leishmanicidal agent when applied over infected tissues and a potential healing agent that provides cosmetic effects favorable to lesion resolution. In addition, its significant advantages in terms of low cost and easy handling make hypericin a favorable alternative to other treatments for managing this disease.

Palavras-chave : Phototherapy; Leishmania spp; Plants; Hypericin.

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