Brucellosis: Pathophysiology and new promising treatments with medicinal plants and natural antioxidants

ABSTRACT

Brucellosis is an old, infectious and common zoonosis whose causative agents are Gramnegative bacteria from the Brucella genus. Brucellosis is transmitted through direct contact with infected animals or using unpasteurized dairy products of goats, pigs, camels, sheep, buffalo and cows. Brucellosis is still the most common zoonosis in the world, with most of cases occurring in developing countries. Today, an approach to traditional medicine and medicinal plants, especially with regards to the repeated recommendations of the World Health Organization, is a necessity. One-third of chemical drugs are produced by using plants and there is a high potential to produce more drugs from plants. Medicinal plants are helpful in the management of various conditions, especially bacterial diseases. Although there is not enough scientific evidence regarding the clinical effectiveness of herbal drugs for the treatment of brucellosis, there is strong evidence on the antimicrobial effects of herbal drugs to prevent infection. Therefore, this article seeks to describe the antibacterial effects of some plant-derived essential oils or extracts, so that they can serve as promising choices to develop new anti-Brucella medications, as suitable alternatives to conventional antibiotics for brucellosis, as much as possible, taking into account the benefits of these herbal drugs.