Arnica Tincture Fot the Treatment of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis II.

Summary

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a parasitic disease caused by more than 20 different species of the protozoan parasite Leishmania. CL usually begins with a papule at the site of the sandfly bite, which enlarges to form a nodule that progresses to an ulceration, or a scaly or warty plaque, over a period of 1 to 3 months. The exact incidence of CL is not known. An estimated 1.2 million cases/year in approximately 100 countries worldwide suffer from different forms of CL. More than 90% of CL cases occur in the Americas and Eastern Mediterranean regions. Afghanistan, Algeria, Brazil, Colombia, Iraq, Pakistan, and Syria report more than 80% of new CL cases worldwide. Since 2010, the World Health Organization has insisted on the need to work on products that become alternatives for the treatment of LC, especially in products that can be applied topically because with them the probability of systemic toxicity is lower, increasing patient safety. Currently, it is recommended to apply local treatments for patients with localized LC, either with pentavalent antimonials administered intralesionally or with thermotherapy. Among the options for topical treatment are natural products that have been, are and will be of utmost importance as sources of medicinal agents. In addition to natural products that have found direct medicinal applications as pharmaceutical entities, many others can serve as chemical models or templates for the design, synthesis and semi-synthesis of novel substances for the treatment of human diseases. Arnica montana L. is a plant with anti-emollient, healing, anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antineuralgic properties; it is included in the Colombian vademecum of medicinal plants. In a randomized phase Ib/II clinical trial conducted in patients with localized LC in Colombia, 100% (per protocol analysis) and 92% (intention-to-treat analysis) efficacy was demonstrated, with no adverse effects other than those expected such as erythema, burning, pain or itching. By demonstrating that arnica tincture is effective and safe, and that A. montana flower extracts in different preparations (topical solutions, tinctures, liniments, ointments or gels) are approved by the European Medicines Agency and are included in the vademecum of Colombian plants issued by the Ministry of Social Protection of Colombia in 2008, the present study aims to establish the safety and efficacy of arnica tincture as an alternative for the topical treatment of localized LC compared to a currently available local therapeutic alternative: intralesional pentavalent antimonials.

Timeline

Start

2026-03-11

Primary completion

2029-12

Completion

2030-02

Publications

• Background Jurgens FM, Herrmann FC, Robledo SM, Schmidt TJ. Dermal Absorption of Sesquiterpene Lactones from Arnica Tincture. Pharmaceutics. 2022 Mar 29;14(4):742. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14040742.
• Background Guidelines of the International Conference on Harmonization - Good Clinical Practice: Consolidated Guide (ICH E6), E6(R2) Current Step 4 version dated 9 November 2016
• Background Iannitti T, Morales-Medina JC, Bellavite P, Rottigni V, Palmieri B. Effectiveness and Safety of Arnica montana in Post-Surgical Setting, Pain and Inflammation. Am J Ther. 2016 Jan-Feb;23(1):e184-97. doi: 10.1097/MJT.0000000000000036.
• Background Wagner S, Suter A, Merfort I. Skin penetration studies of Arnica preparations and of their sesquiterpene lactones. Planta Med. 2004 Oct;70(10):897-903. doi: 10.1055/s-2004-832613.
• Background Velasco-Castrejon O, Walton BC, Rivas-Sanchez B, Garcia MF, Lazaro GJ, Hobart O, Roldan S, Floriani-Verdugo J, Munguia-Saldana A, Berzaluce R. Treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis with localized current field (radio frequency) in Tabasco, Mexico. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1997 Sep;57(3):309-12. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1997.57.309.
• Background Lopez L, Robayo M, Vargas M, Velez ID. Thermotherapy. An alternative for the treatment of American cutaneous leishmaniasis. Trials. 2012 May 17;13:58. doi: 10.1186/1745-6215-13-58.
• Background Lee SA, Hasbun R. Therapy of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Int J Infect Dis. 2003 Jun;7(2):86-93. doi: 10.1016/s1201-9712(03)90002-6.
• Background Reveiz L, Maia-Elkhoury AN, Nicholls RS, Romero GA, Yadon ZE. Interventions for American cutaneous and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis: a systematic review update. PLoS One. 2013 Apr 29;8(4):e61843. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0061843. Print 2013.
• Background Alvar J, Velez ID, Bern C, Herrero M, Desjeux P, Cano J, Jannin J, den Boer M; WHO Leishmaniasis Control Team. Leishmaniasis worldwide and global estimates of its incidence. PLoS One. 2012;7(5):e35671. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0035671. Epub 2012 May 31.
• Background Votypka J, Kasap OE, Volf P, Kodym P, Alten B. Risk factors for cutaneous leishmaniasis in Cukurova region, Turkey. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2012 Mar;106(3):186-90. doi: 10.1016/j.trstmh.2011.12.004. Epub 2012 Jan 26.
• Background Croft SL, Seifert K, Yardley V. Current scenario of drug development for leishmaniasis. Indian J Med Res. 2006 Mar;123(3):399-410.
• Background Velez I, Lopez L, Sanchez X, Mestra L, Rojas C, Rodriguez E. Efficacy of miltefosine for the treatment of American cutaneous leishmaniasis. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2010 Aug;83(2):351-6. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.2010.10-0060.
• Background Herwaldt BL. Leishmaniasis. Lancet. 1999 Oct 2;354(9185):1191-9. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(98)10178-2.
• Background Tiuman TS, Santos AO, Ueda-Nakamura T, Filho BP, Nakamura CV. Recent advances in leishmaniasis treatment. Int J Infect Dis. 2011 Aug;15(8):e525-32. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2011.03.021. Epub 2011 May 24.
• Background Almeida OL, Santos JB. Advances in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the new world in the last ten years: a systematic literature review. An Bras Dermatol. 2011 May-Jun;86(3):497-506. doi: 10.1590/s0365-05962011000300012. English, Portuguese.
• Background Silva NS, Muniz VD. [Epidemiology of American tegumentary leishmaniasis in the State of Acre, Brazilian Amazon]. Cad Saude Publica. 2009 Jun;25(6):1325-36. doi: 10.1590/s0102-311x2009000600015. Portuguese.
• Background Soto J, Rea J, Balderrama M, Toledo J, Soto P, Valda L, Berman JD. Efficacy of miltefosine for Bolivian cutaneous leishmaniasis. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2008 Feb;78(2):210-1.
• Background Blum J, Desjeux P, Schwartz E, Beck B, Hatz C. Treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis among travellers. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2004 Feb;53(2):158-66. doi: 10.1093/jac/dkh058. Epub 2004 Jan 16.
• Background Blum J, Lockwood DN, Visser L, Harms G, Bailey MS, Caumes E, Clerinx J, van Thiel PP, Morizot G, Hatz C, Buffet P. Local or systemic treatment for New World cutaneous leishmaniasis? Re-evaluating the evidence for the risk of mucosal leishmaniasis. Int Health. 2012 Sep;4(3):153-63. doi: 10.1016/j.inhe.2012.06.004.
• Background Robledo SM, Velez ID, Schmidt TJ. Arnica Tincture Cures Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Golden Hamsters. Molecules. 2018 Jan 12;23(1):150. doi: 10.3390/molecules23010150.

Drugs

Indications