Natural products and phytotherapy: an innovative perspective in leishmaniasis treatment.

The interest in phytopharmaceutical products and herbal medicines has been a trend in recent years and this approach may be useful as basis for developing new treatment against leishmaniasis. In this review, we discuss the perspectives of leishmaniasis treatment based on natural products and phytotherapy and compare it to the advantages and disadvantages of using the current drugs of first- and second-choice against leishmaniasis. The reports gathered herein reinforce the leishmanicidal effects of medicinal plants and its derivatives, such as Kalanchoe pinnata, Plumbago scandens, Physalis angulata, Piper aduncum, Peschiera (Tabernaemontana) australis, Phyllanthus amarus, and Artemisia annua, and indicates their use as possible alternative or complementary treatments against leishmaniasis. The data presented here support the use of medicinal plants as safe and inexpensive treatments for leishmaniasis.