Eman M.H. Méabed, Nagwa M. El- Sayed, Alaa I.B. Abou-Sreea, Mohamed H.H. Roby
الملخص الانجليزي
Background: Origanum majorana (O. majorana) and Foeniculum vulgare (F. vulgare) are traditionally used herbs in
Egypt for treatment of several diseases including parasitic diseases.
The Purpose was to determine the efficacy of O. majorana and F. vulgare aqueous extracts (AEs) on Blastocystis
spp. in vitro, and to reveal their phenolic, flavonoids components and antioxidant activities through chemical
analysis.
Methods: The Efficacy of both plant AEs on human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) viability was
assessed using MTT assay. Isolated Blastocystis spp. cysts from patients’ diarrhea samples were incubated with
different concentrations of O. majorana and F. vulgare AEs for different incubation periods (24, 48 and 72 h) in
comparison with nitazoxanide (NTZ) as a drug control. The total contents of phenolic and flavonoid compounds
in the AEs and their ability to reduce DPPH were assessed. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)
analysis for quantitative and qualitative determination of the phenolic and flavonoid contents was performed.
Results: O. majorana AE at a dose of 400 μg /ml showed efficacy rates of 96% and 100% against Blastocystis
parasite after 48 and 72 h, respectively, which nearly equivalent to NTZ at a dose of 500 μg/ml. F. vulgare at a
dose of 250 μg/ml showed less efficacy rate of 56.4% after 48 h and increased to 70.7% after 72 h. Both extracts
contain high phenolic and flavonoid compounds that possess antioxidant and free radical scavenging activities.
Conclusion: O. majorana and F. vulgare AEs showed dose and time dependent anti-Blastocystis activity.
ا.د. نجوى مصطفى السيد | Nagwa Mostafa El-Sayed | 3517