Abstract
Herbal medicines and natural herb extracts are widely used as alternative treatments for various parasitic diseases, and such extracts may also have potential to decrease the side effects of the standard regimen drugs used to treat toxoplasmosis (sulfadiazine-pyrimethamine combination). We evaluated how effective the Thai piperaceae plants Piper betle, P. nigrum and P. sarmentosum are against Toxoplasma gondii infection in vitro and in vivo. Individually, we extracted the piperaceae plants with ethanol, passed them through a rotary evaporator and then lyophilized them to obtain crude extracts for each one. The in vitro study indicated that the P. betle extract was the most effective extract at inhibiting parasite growth in HFF cells (IC50 on RH-GFP: 23.2 μg/mL, IC50 on PLK-GFP: 21.4 μg/mL). Furthermore, treatment of experimental mice with the P. betle extract for 7 days after infection with 1,000 tachyzoites of the T. gondii PLK strain increased their survival (survival rates: 100% in 400 mg/kg-treated, 83.3% in 100 mg/kg-treated, 33.3% in 25 mg/kg-treated, 33.3% in untreated mice). Furthermore, treatment with 400 mg/kg of the P. betle extract resulted in 100% mouse survival following infection with 100,000 tachyzoites. The present study shows that P. betle extract has the potential to act as a medical plant for the treatment of toxoplasmosis.
Highlights
Toxoplasma gondii, an obligate intracellular protozoan, causes toxoplasmosis
To analyze the toxicity of each piperaceae extract on Human foreskin fibroblast (HFF) cells in vitro, we examined cell proliferation using a CCK-8 cell counting kit
The proliferation rates of the HFF cells treated with 100 μg/mL of P. nigrum or P. sarmentosum extract were more than 100% (S2A Fig), indicating that these extracts had lower cytotoxicity than that of the P. betle extract
Summary
Toxoplasma gondii, an obligate intracellular protozoan, causes toxoplasmosis. Infection with T. gondii threatens one-third of the global human population [1]. Toxoplasma infections have nonspecific symptoms, but can be associated with several clinical syndromes and cause serious complications and severe life-threatening disease in congenitally infected and immunocompromised hosts. Ingestion of raw or undercooked meat containing T. gondii tissue cysts is the main route of infection for this parasite [2,3]. Sulfonamide drugs and pyrimethamine used in combination are the gold-standard medicines for treating toxoplasmosis [4].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
