Evaluation of the in vitro Antiprotozoal Activity of Various Dry Plant Extracts against Dientamoeba fragilis

John Ellis John Harkness

doi:10.4172/2332-0877.1000111

Abstract

Copyright: © 2013 Barratt J, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Plants represent an important source of diverse biomolecules with unique properties, some of which make them attractive candidates for the development of novel antimicrobials. Plant extracts have been evaluated in vitro for their activity against human-infecting gastrointestinal protozoa, such as Giardia intestinalis [1] and Entamoeba histolytica [2], with some success. Some plant extracts are also active against the sexually transmitted parasite Trichomonas vaginalis [2].

Highlights

In response to reports of possible Flagyl® resistance in D. fragilis [5], a simple study was designed to determine whether non-prescription dry plant extracts commercially available from local health stores exhibit direct anti-Dientamoeba activity
The plant extracts used in this study have no activity against cultured D. fragilis trophozoites at a concentration of 500 μg/ml, which exceeds that which could be achieved in the human body
Given that T. vaginalis and D. fragilis are both trichomonads, and that berberine salts from Goldenseal [7] and Pomegranate juice [8] are active against T. vaginalis, it was hypothesised that dry extracts from these plants would possess anti-Dientamoeba activity

Summary

Introduction

Evaluation of the in vitro Antiprotozoal Activity of Various Dry Plant Extracts against Dientamoeba fragilis Plant extracts have been evaluated in vitro for their activity against human-infecting gastrointestinal protozoa, such as Giardia intestinalis [1] and Entamoeba histolytica [2], with some success. For the treatment of infections with microaerophilic protozoa, such as Dientamoeba fragilis and G. intestinalis, metronidazole (Flagyl®) has been the drug of choice for decades.

Results

Conclusion