Lectins and toxins in the plant diet of Phlebotomus papatasi (Diptera: Psychodidae) can kill Leishmania major promastigotes in the sandfly and in culture

Leishmania major promastigotes are agglutinated and die in their vector, Phlebotomus papatasi, after the sandflies feed on some plants that are found in their natural habitat. In in-vitro assays, extracts of Ricinus communis (Euphorbiaceae), Capparis spinosa (Capparaceae), Prosopis farcta (Mimosaceae) and Tamarix milotica (Tamaricaceae) agglutinated and killed the parasites. This activity could be inhibited by specific carbohydrates, indicating that it was the result of various lectins in the extracts. An extract of Solanum luteum (Solanaceae) lysed the promastigotes under similar conditions and this cytotoxicity was not abated by the sugars tested. High mortality of promastigotes occurred in infected flies after they ingested an extract of R. communis, even when the extract fed to the flies had been pre-mixed with glucose, a carbohydrate that inhibited the agglutination caused by such an extract in vitro. The results indicate that the lectins and toxins found in the vegetation in L. major foci may decrease the transmission of the parasite.