The effect of alcoholic extracts of Arctium lappa L. and Satureja hortensis L. against Trichomonas vaginalis in vitro

Background: Trichomonas vaginalis infection is one of the most prevalent type of vaginitis in women. Considering the side effects of metronidazole and therapeutic properties of Arctium lappa L. and Satureja hortensis L. in traditional medicine, this study aimed to examine the anti-Trichomonas effects of Arctium lappa and Satureja hortensis alcoholic extracts in vitro. Materials and Methods: This experimental study was conducted on T. vaginalis isolated from 1203 persons referred to five health centers in Kashan city. Five T. vaginalis isolates were cultured in a TYI-S-33 medium and were used to study the effect of Arctium lappa and Satureja hortensis extracts. The effects of different concentrations (12.5, 25, 50, 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1000 µg/mL) of plant extracts on the growth of T. vaginalis trophozoeites were studied 12, 24, and 48 h after the culture. Also, the culture media and metronidazole (0.025, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4 µg/mL) were considered as the negative and positive controls, respectively. The effects of the extracts and drug were examined by counting the number of live and dead parasites using the trypan blue staining method. Results: Results showed that the alcoholic extracts of Satureja hortensis and Arctium lappa had an inhibitory effect on the growth of T. vaginalis. The IC50 values of the alcoholic extracts of Satureja hortensis, Arctium lappa and metronidazole after 24 h were 190.8, 996.7 and 0.0326 µg/mL, respectively. Conclusion: The present study shows the in vitro anti-Trichomonas effect of Arctium lappa and Satureja hortensis extracts. The anti-Trichomonas effect of Satureja hortensis extract was higher than that of the Arctium lappa extract. Further studies are recommended to investigate the anti-Trichomonas effect of major components of these plants, especially the Satureja hortensis extract

Induction of apoptosis by alcoholic extract of combination verbascum thapsus and ginger officinale on Iranian isolate of trichomonas vaginalis

Introduction: The genus Malassezia is an important skin resident of human. The present study aimed to analyze in vitro activity of the essential oils of Lavandula stoechas, Cuminum cyminum and Artemisia sieberi against clinical strains of Malassezia species. Methods: A total of 47 Malassezia strains, including Malassezia furfur, Malassezia globosa and Malassezia obtuse, were used in this study. A disk diffusion technique was selected for testing the susceptibility of Malassezia strains to the essential oils. Results: All the essential oils showed in vitro activity against Malassezia strains, with M. furfur and M. obtusa being the highest and lowest susceptible of the strains, respectively. The highest antifungal activity was associated with the essential oil of C. cyminum (mean ± SD: 50.0 ± 0.0 mm), followed by L. stoechas (mean ± SD: 46.8 ± 3.1 mm) and A. sieberi (mean ± SD: 36.9 ± 5.7 mm). The inhibition zone ranges were 12.5 to 15.6 mm (mean ± SD: 14.4 ± 1.6 mm) for ketoconazole and 11.6 to 13.3 mm (mean ± SD: 12.4 ± 0.9 mm) for fluconazole. Although all the antifungal drugs were found to possess good antifungal activities against Malassezia strains, their effects were lower than the activities shown by the essential oils tested (P < 0.05). Conclusion: These results indicated that the essential oils tested, especially the one from C. cyminum, inhibited the growth of clinical strains of Malassezia, implying its potential use in the treatment of Malassezia infections. This indicates that this plant may be useful in preparation of new drugs

Review of trichomonas vaginalis in Iran, based on epidemiological situation

Abstract Trichomoniasis, which is caused by Trichomonas vaginalis, is the most common non-viral sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the world including Iran. There were roughly 250 million new cases all over the world in a year. T. vaginalis as an important disease has been associated with HIV (in terms of exposure to sexually transmitted infection, STI) which increases the number of high-risk members, and thus it is an important public health problem. Additionally, this pathogen has been associated with serious health consequences. For instance, it may cause a woman to deliver a low-birth-weight or premature infant, and increase chances of cervical cancer. Because little information is available about the prevalence of T. vaginalis infection in Iranian population, this review was carried out to determine the prevalence of T. vaginalis among Iranian population. For this systematic review, data about epidemiology of T. vaginalis in different parts of Iran with different populations were systematically collected from 1992 to 2017 through the international databases such as PubMed, Scirus, ISI Web of Science, Scopus, EMBASE, Science Direct and Google Scholar and Islamic World Science Citation Center (ISC). National database searching included Iran Medex, Iran Doc, Magiran and Scientific Information Database (SID). A total of 39 clinical and laboratory investigations about the prevalence of Trichomoniasis from different regions of Iran were analyzed. The overall prevalence rate of T. vaginalis infection in Iranian population was estimated to be minimally 0.4% and maximally 42%. The present review showed that T. vaginalis infection rate is relatively high among the Iranian population. The control strategies, including personal hygienic education, simultaneous couple treatment, the sensitivity of diagnostic methods, appropriate preventive tool (condom) in sexual contacts could lead to the disruption of transmission. Keywords: Epidemiology, General population, Iran, Prevalence, Trichomonas vaginalis

Induction of apoptosis by alcoholic extract of combination verbascum thapsus and ginger officinale on Iranian isolate of trichomonas vaginalis

Background: The protozoan Trichomonas vaginalis is a sexually transmitted disease (STD). Metronidazole is a chosen drug for the treatment. This study evaluated the anti trichomonal activity of alcoholic extracts of combination Verbascum thapsus and Ginger officinale. Methods: This experimental study was conducted in the Parasitology Laboratory, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran in 2015, on 23 women with suspected trichomoniasis referring to Kashan clinical centers. Medium TYIS- 33 was used for culture of three T. vaginalis isolates. Different concentrations (25, 50, 100, 200, 400, 800 μg/ml) of V. thapsus and G. officinale ethanol extract added to Trichomonas trophozoites in 48-well plates and metronidazole considered as positive control and the negative control was TYI-S33 containing Trichomonas trophozoites without any drug. In all of mentioned groups, trophozoites number counted 12, 24, 48 h after culture. Results were analyzed using ANOVA statistical test, to evaluate the toxicity of extract, measured by MTT assay. Induced apoptosis of T. vaginalis after treatment with different concentrations of extract was determined by Flow Cytometry. Results: IC50 of alcoholic extract of combination V. thapsus and G. officinale and metronidazole after 24h was 73.80 μg/ml and 0.0326 μg/ml, respectively. The toxicity percentage of 25-800 μg/ml concentrations of this combination were between 0.2-1.98. In different concentrations of extract (25,50,100,200 and 400 μg/ml) apoptosis percent after 48h was 18.97 to 77.19 and necrosis percent was calculated 1.35, 3.18, 3.10, 1.16 and 4.09, respectively. Conclusion: Alcoholic extract of combination V. thapsus and G. officinale induces programmed death in T. vaginalis. Due to no toxicity on macrophages, it can be examined in vivo studies. © 2018, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS). All rights reserved

Effect of verbascum thapsus ethanol extract on induction of apoptosis in trichomonas vaginalis in vitro

Trichomoniasis is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by a tiny parasite called Trichomonas vaginalis. Metronidazole is used as routine treatment of disease. Some reports have confirmed the potential carcinogenic and teratogenic effects of this drug on fetus and indication of drug resistance. Verbascum thapsus belongs to the family of Scorphulariaceae. Its antiinflammatory properties, disinfectant and skin healing effects are well known. This plant has been used to treat diarrhea and genitourinary infection in traditional medicine. Effects of different concentrations of the Verbascum thapsus extract were tested on the growth and motility of T.vaginalis trophozoites. To evaluate the toxicity of extract, their effects on mice macrophages were measured by MTT(3-(4,5-dimethyl thiazolyl-2)- 2,5-diphenyle tetrazolium bromide )assay. In this experimental study the effect of Verbascum Thapsus ethanol extract on induction apoptosis in T. vaginalis was determined by Flow Cytometry. Results were analyzed by Flow Jo software and the degree of apoptosis was determined. Toxicity percentage of 25-800 μg/ml concentrations of Verbascum thapsus alcoholic extract for mice macrophages was observed between 0.17-0.25 after 12 hours and they were between 0.25-0.42 and0.45-0.95 after 24 and 48h respectively. IC50 (inhibitory concentration, 50%) of Verbascum thapsus ethanol extract and metronidazole after 24h was 39.17 and 0.0326 μg/ml respectively. Flow cytometry results showed the percent of apoptosis following treatment of trophozoites with different concentrations of Verbascum thapsus ethanol extract (25, 50,100,200,400 μg/ml), were 20.7, 37.04, 47.5, 62.72 and 86.35 respectively, while in control group was 2.9. According to this study, Verbascum thapsus extract induces programmed death in T. vaginalis. It is recommended that Verbascum thapsus extract can be considered as a suitable choice for Medical Studies. © 2015 Bentham Science Publishers

Therapeutic effect of allium cepa, oliveria decumbens vent and muscari neglectum against trichomonas vaginalis, in vitro

Background: Trichomonas vaginalis is a flagellate pathogenic protozoa of human urogenital tract, that infect 170 million new cases through the word annually. Considering to the side effects of metronidazole as common drug to treatment of this disease,this study was conducted to evaluate the in vitro activity of extract of Allium cepa, Oliveria decumbens Vent and Muscari neglectum against Trichomonas vaginalis. Methods: This experimental study was carried out on Trichomonas vaginalis isolated from patient referred to five Kashan, Iran health centers in 2013. The effect of alcoholic extract of Allium cepa, Oliveria decumbens Vent and Muscari neglectum in 12.5, 25, 50, 100, 200, 400, 800and 1000 μg/ml concentration was evaluated on growth of Trichomonas vaginalis in TYI-s-33 medium after 12,24and 48 hours. The results was compared with metronidazole effect in 0.025, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4 μg/ml concentration as positive control. The number of alive and dead throphozoite measured and compared by trypan blue staininig. IC50 was determined using GraphPad prism5. Findings: This study showed that the alcoholic extract of Allium cepa, Oliveria decumbens Vent and Muscari neglectum has inhibitory effect on invitro growth of Trichomonas vaginalis. Effect on growth of Trichomonas vaginalis in vitro condition. The IC50 rate was calculated 101.8 for Olivera dacumbens vent, 572.3 for Allium cepa and 329.4 for Muscari neglectum after 24 h. The IC50 rate of mrtonidazole was calculated 0.0326 as the same time. Conclusion: Alcoholic extract of Allium cepa, Olivera dacumbens vent and Muscari neglectum has antitrichomonal effects. The effect of Oliveria decumbens Vent was higher than others, we recommend further studies using major components of these plants especially Olivera dacumbens, to investigate the antitrichomoniasis effect of it. © 2014, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All rights reserved

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) induces apoptosis in Trichomonas vaginalis in vitro

Background: Trichomoniasis is the most common sexually transmitted protozoan diseases in the worldwide. Metronidazole is the choice drug for trichomoniasis treatment, however, metronidazole resistant Trichomonas vaginalis (T.vaginalis) has been reported. Natural products are the source of most new drugs, and Zingiber officinale (Ginger) is widely used ingredient in the traditional medicine. Objective: The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of different concentrations of the ginger ethanol extract on the growth of T.vaginalis trophozoites in vitro. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 970 women who were attend in Kashan health centers were examined for T. vaginalis. Of them, 23 samples were infected with T.vaginalis. Three T. vaginalis isolates were cultured in a TYI-S-33 medium. The effect of ginger ethanol extracts and its toxicity in different concentrations (25, 50, 100, 200, 400, 800 μg/ml) on mouse macrophages were measured in triplicate exam by MTT 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. The effect of ginger on apoptosis induction was determined by Flow cytometry. Results: The IC50 of ginger and metronidazole were 93.8 and 0.0326 μg/ml, respectively. 12, 24 and 48 hr after adding different concentrations of extract on mouse macrophages, fatality rates in maximum dose (800 μg/ml) were 0.19, 0.26 and 0.31 respectively. Flow cytometry results showed the apoptosis rate following treatment with different concentrations of the extract after 48 hr were 17, 28.5, 42.1, 58.8, 76.3 and 100% respectively, while in the control group was 2.9%. Conclusion: Ginger ethanol extract induces programmed death in T. vaginalis. It is recommended that due to the known teratogenic effect of metronidazole, ginger can be considered as an alternative drug for metronidazole. © 2016, Research and Clinical Center for Infertitlity. All rights reserved

ToRCH "co-infections" are associated with increased risk of abortion in pregnant women

ToRCH infections (toxoplasmosis, rubella, cytomegalovirus and Herpes simplex virus) have long been known to be associated with bad obstetric outcomes. However, little information is available about the impact of ToRCH co-infections on the outcome of pregnancy. Hence, we tested the IgG and IgM antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii, Rubella, Cytomegalovirus and Herpes Simplex Virus among 81 pregnant women with abortion (case group) and 98 pregnant women with normal delivery (control group). In the single-infection model, only CMV-IgM seropositivity was significantly increased in case than control group (25.9 in case and 12.2 in control, OR=2.5, P=0.019). In the co-infection model, 14 patterns were recognized, but two patterns were significantly increased in the case than the control group. Co-infection of T. gondiiIgG+CMV IgM was 9.1-fold increased in the case than the control group (8.6 in the case and 1 in control, OR=9.1; P=0.024). Also, co-infection of T. gondiiIgG+HSV IgG+CMV IgM was 7.7-fold increased in case than the control group (7.4 in case and 1 in control, OR=7.7; P=0.04). Although the OR of other co-infections was higher in the case than the control group, the difference was not statistically significant. These findings indicate that ToRCH co-infections are associated with increased risk of abortion than single infection. Hence, the rates of co-infections should be considered in prenatal screening of ToRCH infections. © 2016 Japanese Teratology Society