Oral Therapy with Amlodipine and Lacidipine, 1,4-Dihydropyridine Derivatives Showing Activity against Experimental Visceral Leishmaniasis.

Amlodipine and lacidipine, conventional antihypertensive drugs, inhibited Leishmania donovani infection in vitro and in BALB/c mice when administered orally. These 1,4-dihydropyridine derivatives functioned through dose-dependent inhibition of oxygen consumption, triggering caspase 3-like activation-mediated programmed cell death of the parasites.