**5. Conclusion**

All these compounds have effectively showed their potential as antileishmanial agents. Future works leading to clinical trials of these compounds alone or in conjunction with present chemotherapeutics may highly benefit the *Leishmania* distressed people. Overall the immunomodulators of the herbal origin like licorice and its constituents open up avenues for formulation of cost-effective and low-toxicity drugs for diseases with limited treatment.

#### **Acknowledgements**

We would like to acknowledge all our funding agencies, past and present: University Grants Commission, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI), Department of Science and Technology, Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of West Bengal, Department of Biotechnology and our university and institute: University of Calcutta and Indian Institute of Chemical Biology.
