Screening of antileishmanial activity from marine sponge extracts collected off the Tunisian coast

The present study reports on the in vitro antileishmanial activity of two Ircinidae (Dictyoceratida, Demospongiae, Porifera) Ircinia spinosula and Sarcotragus sp. Sampled from the east coast of Tunisia. The ethyl acetate, dichloromethane, and aqueous extracts were tested against Leishmania major promastigotes. The anti-proliferative activity was checked using different extracts concentration during 72 h. We found that the IC50 (sub-inhibitory concentration) values ranged from 1.39 to 264.67 mug/ml. The most active extract was that from sarcotragus sp dichloromethane extract. Microscopic observations showed that the extracts promoted cellular alterations and induce enlargement of the nucleus and modification of the parasite shape. These promising results in relation with in vitro antileishmanial activity open the way for complementary investigation in order to purify and identify active molecules.