ABSTRACT
Objective: Current therapy strategies of leishmaniasis have some problems such as high cost, toxicity and side effects. Plant extracts can be a source of drugs to control leishmaniasis. In this study, the effect of hydroalcoholic and chloroformic extracts of Vigna radiata, Tamarix ramosissima, and Carthamus lanatus on Leishmania major and L. tropica was studied. Methods: The plant samples were collected from west of Iran and their extracts were prepared. Anti-promastigote activity assay of all extracts was done using tetrazolium-dye assay. Results: Only high concentrations of V. radiata and C. lanatus were able to inhibit Leishmania, while both high and low concentrations of T. ramosissima had antileishmanial effect. No difference was observed between hydroalcoholic with chloroformic extract of each plant. Conclusion: Altogether, the results revealed the antileishmanial activity of T. ramosissima extracts against L. major and L. tropica, indicating its potential as an antileishmanial agent.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To compare limiting dilution assay and real-time PCR methods in Leishmania tropica parasite load measurement in vaccinated mice. Methods: BALB/c mice were vaccinated by Leishmania tropica soluble Leishmania antigen or recombinant Leishmania tropica stress-inducibleprotein-1 with/without adjuvant. After three vaccinations, mice were challenged by Leishmania tropica promastigotes. Two months after challenge, the draining lymph nodes of mice footpad were removed and parasite load was assayed by limiting dilution assay and real-time PCR methods. Limiting dilution assay was done by diluting tissue samples to extinction in a biphasic medium. For real-time PCR, DNA of the lymph nodes was extracted, equal dilutions of each sample were prepared and hot-start real-time PCR was done using appropriate primers. The data of the two methods were compared by appropriate statistical methods. Results: Both methods were able to measure different levels of parasite load in vaccinated/unvaccinated mice. In addition, wherever parasite load of a group was estimated high (or low) by one method, the estimated parasite load by another method was the same, although statistically significant differences were found between some groups. Conclusions: Both methods lead to approximately similar results in terms of differentiating parasite load of the experimental groups. However, due to the lower errors and faster process, the real-time PCR method is preferred.
ABSTRACT
Emergence of antibiotics resistant pathogenic bacteria has resulted in attempts by scientists to find new drugs as alternatives to antibiotics. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial effect of stem bark extracts of Tamarix ramosissima on Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates. This study was conducted in Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, in 2013. The stem bark of T. ramosissima shrub was separated. Using the petrolatum ether, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, ethanol and hydro ethanol, T. ramosissima extract was prepared. We assessed the susceptibility of 52 isolates of P. aeruginosa to the extracts by standard disk diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] methods. The results showed that low concentrations of the extracts had no obvious effect on 52 isolates of P. aeruginosa. But higher concentrations of the extract were effective against a number of isolates. The petrolatum ether extract was effective against five, dichloromethane extract against six, ethyl acetate extracts against eight, ethanol extract against nine and hydro ethanol extracts against six isolates. MIC of the extracts had a little effect in comparison to the controlled antibiotics. In general, the difference between the effect of the extracts and the control antibiotics was considerable and statistically significant which indicated little effect of the extracts on the bacteria. Increased concentrations of the extract showed a slight effect on P. aeruginosa in vitro, compared to the controlled antibiotics, but it was not statically significant. In order to understand whether traditional use of the extract of this shrub to treat skin ulcers had been due to its anti-bacterial or anti-inflammatory effect, in vivo experiments on animals are necessary