Anti-Toxoplasma In Vitro and In Vivo Activity of Pyrus boissieriana Arbutin-Rich Fraction.

Abstract

Pyrus boissieriana is a rich source of arbutin and has been used in herbal medicine to treat infectious diseases. This study aimed to investigate the effect of the arbutin-rich fraction of Pyrus boissieriana aerial parts on Toxoplasma gondii In Vitro and In Vivo. An arbutin-rich fraction of P. boissieriana was prepared beforehand. Flow cytometry was used to evaluate the effect of different concentrations (1-512µg/ml) of the P. boissieriana arbutin-rich fraction on Toxoplasma tachyzoites (RH strain). The cytotoxicity of the concentrations on the macrophage J774 cell line was also investigated by MTT assay. For In Vivo investigation, 4-6-week-old female mice infected with the RH strain of T. gondii were treated with different doses (16, 32, 64, 256, and 512mg/kg) of the fraction using gavage. The highest and lowest lethality of the tachyzoites were 89.6% and 25.9% related to the concentrations of 512µg/ml and 1µg/ml, respectively, with an IC50 value of 18.1µg/ml ± 0.37. The cytotoxicity test showed an IC50 value of 984.3µg/ml ± 0.76 after 48h incubation. The mean survival of mice at the lowest treated dose (16mg/kg) was 6.6days, and it was 15days at the highest dose (512mg/kg). The concentrations of 512, 256, 128, and 64mg/kg of the fraction compared to the negative control (6.2days mean survival) significantly increased the survival time of mice (P < 0.001, P = 0.009, P = 0.018, and P = 0.021, respectively). The results showed that the arbutin-rich fraction of P. boissieriana is effective against T. gondii In Vitro and In Vivo and may be a reliable alternative to conventional treatment for toxoplasmosis, although further studies are necessary.