Medical Laboratory Journal

en In Vitro Protoscolicidal Activity of Pomegranate (Punica Granatum) Rind and Barberry (Berberis Vulgaris) Alcoholic Extracts against Hydatid Cysts Caused by Echinococcus granulosus انگل شناسی Parasitology Research Article Research Article Background and objectives: Echinococcosis is a global cosmopolitan zoonotic disease and a major veterinary and public health issue. In humans, echinococcosis usually develops following close contact with infected dogs or ingestion of the parasite eggs. Until now, no effective vaccine has been commercially developed, and treatment is only focused on controlling hydatidosis. This study was conducted to evaluate the protoscolicidal activity of alcoholic extracts of pomegranate rind and barberry. Methods: The alcoholic extracts of pomegranate rind and barberry were prepared by mixing 330 g of powdered plants with 1,000 ml of 70% ethanol. A concentrate of viable protoscolices (PCSs) was obtained from hydatid cysts found in the lungs and liver of sheep. Next, PCSs were treated with four different concentrations (5, 10, 20, 30, and mg/ml) of each extract for 10, 20, 30, and 60 minutes. The eosin exclusion test was performed to assess viability of the PCSs. Results: The mortality rate caused by treatment with the extracts ranged between 25% and 100%. Complete inactivation of PCSs was achieved after 60 minutes of exposure to 15 mg/ml of the pomegranate rind extract and 30 mg/ml of the barberry extract. Conclusion: Given their favorable anti-PCSs activity, combination of conventional synthetic albendazole with the alcoholic extracts of pomegranate rind and barberry might induce higher anti-PCS activity with lower side effects. It is recommended to evaluate the anti-PCSs activities of the pomegranate rind and barberry alcoholic extracts in vivo and ex vivo. Echinococcus granulosus,pomegranate fruit rind,Berberis, 26 31 http://mlj.goums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-162-5&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Shahab Shiri Hamedani sshshahab@gmail.com 100319475328460022794 100319475328460022794 No Student Research Committee, Faculty of Medicine, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Mohsen Mansouri Mhsnmansouri@gmail.com 100319475328460022795 100319475328460022795 No Department of Persian Traditional Medicine, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Sina Shiri Hamedani sshnevis@gmail.com 100319475328460022796 100319475328460022796 No Student Research Committee, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran Parham Tadayon parhamtadayon@gmail.com 100319475328460022797 100319475328460022797 No Student Research Committee, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran Peyman Aslani peymanaslani@ajaums.ac.ir 100319475328460022798 100319475328460022798 No Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Mohammad Mohsen Homayouni mmb093storage@gmail.com 100319475328460022799 100319475328460022799 Yes Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran