Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Amoebicidal activity of the rhizomes and aerial parts of Allium sivasicum on Entamoeba histolytica

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Parasitology Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Amebiasis is a severe illness caused by Entamoebachistolytica. The aim of this study is to evaluate the in vitro amebicidal activity of the rhizomes and aerial parts of Allium sivasicum, an endemic plant species from the flora of Turkey. Both extracts showed a time- and dose-dependent amebicidal action on the trophozoites. Among the extracts tested, rhizomes of A. sivasicum showed the strongest amebicidal effect on the trophozoites. In the presence of the rhizome extract at 2.0 mg/ml concentration, all of the trophozoites available in media have completely been killed within the 72nd hour. At 4.0 mg/ml extract concentration, all of the trophozoites available in media have completely been killed by the rhizome extract from the time of 24th hour. At 32.0 mg/ml extract concentration, 73.7% of the trophozoites were successfully killed by the extract within the first experimental hour. Aerial part extract at 4.0 mg/ml concentration completely killed the trophozoited within the 48th hour of the experimental procedure. At 8.0 mg/ml extract concentration, all of the trophozoites available in media have completely been killed by the aerial part extract from the time of 24th hour. At 32.0 mg/ml extract concentration, 67.7% of the trophozoites were successfully killed by the extract within the first experimental hour. These results suggest that the plant species evaluated here is a potential therapeutic drug for the treatment of Entamoeba infections, but it still needs to be evaluated quantitatively for determining the active phytochemicals.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Akin Polat Z, Tepe B, Vural A (2007a) In vitro amoebicidal activity of Thymus sipyleus subsp. sipyleus var. sipyleus on Acanthamoeba castellani and its cytotoxic potential on corneal cells. Parasitol Res 101:1551–1555

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Akin Polat Z, Vural A, Tepe B, Cetin A (2007b) In vitro amoebicidal activity of four Allium species on Acanthamoeba castellani and their cytotoxic potentials on corneal cells. Parasitol Res 101:397–402

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Akin Polat Z, Vural A, Ozan F, Tepe B, Ozcelik S, Cetin A (2008) In vitro effect of garlic (Allium sativum) extract on Acanthamoeba castellani and its cytotoxic potential on corneal cells. J Ocul Pharmacol Ther 24:8–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arrieta J, Reyes B, Calzada F, Cedillo-Rivera R (2001) Amoebicidal and giardicidal compounds from the leaves of Zanthoxylum liebmannianun. Fitoterapia 72:295–297

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Behnia M, Haghighi A, Komeylizadeh H, Tabaei SJS, Abadi A (2008) Inhibitory effects of Iranian Thymus vulgaris extracts on in vitro growth of Entamoeba histolytica. Korean J Parasitol 46:153–156

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Block E (1985) The chemistry of garlic and onions. Sci Am 252:114–119

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cao G, Soc E, Prior RL (1996) Antioxidant capacity of tea and common vegetables. J Agric Food Chem 44:3426–3431

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chu DM, Miles H, Toney D, Ngyuen C, Marciano-Cabral F (1998) Amebicidal activity of plant extracts from Southeast Asia on Acanthamoeba spp. Parasitol Res 84:746–752

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Davis PH (1984) Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, vol 8. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis PH (1998) Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, vol 10 (supplement-I). Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh

    Google Scholar 

  • De Waterbeemd H, Gifford E (2003) Admet in silico modelling: towards prediction paradise. Nat Rev Drug Discov 2:192–204

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Degerli S, Berk S, Malatyali E, Tepe B (2012) Screening of the in vitro amoebicidal activities of Pastinaca armenea (Fisch. & C.A. Mey.) and Inula oculus-christi (L.) on Acanthamoeba castellani cysts and trophozoites. Parasitol Res. doi:10.1007/s00436-011-2524-z

  • Dorant E, Van den Brandt PA, Goldbohm RA, Hermus RJ, Sturmans F (1993) Garlic and its significance for the prevention of cancer in humans: a critical view. Br J Cancer 67:424–429

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • el-Nahas FA, el-Ashmawy MI (2004) Reproductive and cytogenetic toxicity of metronidazole in male mice. Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol 94:226–231

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gazzani G, Papetti A, Daglia M, Berte F, Gregotti C (1998) Protective activity of water soluble components of some common diet vegetables on rat liver microsome and the effect of thermal treatment. J Agric Food Chem 46:4123–4127

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gomez M, Perez DG, Ayala P, Samuleson J, Orozco E (1996) Physiology and molecular biology of multidrug resistance in Entamoeba histolytica. Arch Med Res 27:421–425

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Goze I, Dag S, Tepe B, Akin Polat Z (2009) In vitro amoebicidal activity of Salvia staminea and S. caespitosa on Acanthamoeba castellani and their cytotoxic potentials on corneal cells. J Ocul Pharmacol Ther 25:293–298

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Guner A, Ozhatay N, Ekim T, Baser KHC (2000) Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, vol 11 (supplement-II). Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh

    Google Scholar 

  • Hertog MGL, Kromhout D, Aravanis C, Blackburn H, Buzina R, Fidanza F (1995) Flavonoid intake and longterm risk of coronary heart disease and cancer in the seven countries study. Arch Int Med 155:381–386

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hou TJ, Xu XJ (2004) Recent development and application of virtual screening in drug discovery: an overview. Curr Pharm Des 10:1011–1033

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hou T, Wang J, Zhang W, Xu X (2007) ADME evaluation in drug discovery. 6. Can oral bioavailability in humans be effectively predicted by simple molecular property-based rules? J Chem Inf Model 47:460–463

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • John DT, Petri WA Jr (2006) Markell and Voge’s medical parasitology, 9th edn. Saunders, Philadelphia, p 23

    Google Scholar 

  • Kayser O, Kiderlen AF, Croft SL (2003) Natural products as antiparasitic drugs. Parasitol Res 90:55–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knekt P, Jarvinen R, Reunanen A, Maatela J (1996) Flavonoid intake and coronary mortality in Finland: a cohort study. Br Med J 312:478–481

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Könemann (1999) Botanica. Gordon Cheers Publication, Hong Kong, p 1020 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Lichtenstein A, Kondo AT, Visvesvara GS, Fernandez A, Paiva EF, Mauad T, Dolhnikoff M, Martins MA (2005) Pulmonary amoebiasis presenting as superior vena cava syndrome. Thorax 60:350–352

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lun ZR, Burri C, Menzinger M, Kaminsky R (1994) Antiparasitic activity of diallyl trisulfide (Dasuansu) on human and animal pathogenic protozoa (Trypanosoma sp., Entamoeba histolytica and Giardia lamblia) in vitro. Ann Soc Belg Med Trop 74:51–59

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Malatyali E, Tepe B, Degerli S, Berk S, Akpulat HA (2012a) In vitro amoebicidal activity of four Peucedanum species on Acanthamoeba castellani cysts and trophozoites. Parasitol Res. doi:10.1007/s00436-011-2466-5

  • Malatyali E, Tepe B, Degerli S, Berk S (2012b) In vitro amoebicidal activities of Satureja cuneifolia and Melissa officinalis on Acanthamoeba castellani cysts and trophozoites. Parasitol Res. doi:10.1007/s00436-011-2744-2

  • Mansell P, Reckless JP (1991) Garlic: effects on serum lipids, blood pressure, coagulation, platelet aggregation and vasodilatation. Br Med J 303:379–380

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mattana A, Biancu G, Alberti L, Accardo A, Delogu G, Fiori PL, Cappuccinelli P (2004) In vitro evaluation of the effectiveness of the macrolide rokitamycin and chlorpromazine against Acanthamoeba castellani. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 48:4520–4527

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Osato MS, Robinson NM, Wilhelmus KR, Jones DB (1991) In vitro evaluation of antimicrobial compounds for cysticidal activity against Acanthamoeba. Rev Infect Dis 13(suppl 5):S431–S435

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Petri WA Jr, Singh U (1999) Diagnosis and management of amebiasis. Clin Infect Dis 29:1117–1125

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Petri WA Jr, Haque R, Lyerly D, Vines RR (2000) Estimating the impact of amoebiasis on health. Parasitol Today 16:320–321

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pittman FE, Pittman JC (1974) Amebic liver abscess following metronidazole therapy for amebic colitis. Am J Trop Med Hyg 23:146–150

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Purohit V, Basu KA (2000) Mutagenicity of nitroaromatic compounds. Chem Res Toxicol 13:673–692

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reed SL (2001) Amebiasis and infection with free-living amebas. In: Harrison TR, Fauci AS, Braunwald E (eds) Harrison’s principles of ınternal medicine, 15th edn. McGraw-Hill, New York, pp 1199–1202

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson GL (1968) The laboratory diagnosis of human parasitic amoebae. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 62:285–294

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Said Fernández S, Ramos Guerra MC, Marta Cárdenas BD, Vargas Villarreal J, Villarreal Treviño L (2005) In vitro antiprotozoal activity of the leaves of Artemisia ludoviciana. Fitoterapia 76:466–468

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schuster FL, Visvesvara GS (1998) Efficacy of novel antimicrobials against clinical isolates of opportunistic amebas. J Eukaryot Microbiol 45:612–618

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sendl A, Elbl G, Steinke B, Redl K, Breu W, Wagner H (1992) Comparative pharmacological investigations of Allium ursinum and Allium sativum. Planta Med 58:1–7

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sokmen A, Jones BM, Erturk M (1999) The in vitro antibacterial activity of Turkish plants. J Ethnopharmacol 67:79–86

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Suwatana O (1997) Acute diarrhea in under five-year-old children admitted to King Mongkut Prachomklao hospital Phetchaburi Province. J Med Assoc Thai 80:26–33

    Google Scholar 

  • Tan RX, Zou WX (2001) Endophytes: a rich source of functional metabolites. Nat Prod Rep 18:448–459

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tanyuksel M, Petri WA Jr (2003) Laboratory diagnosis of amoebiasis. Clin Microbiol Rev 16:713–729

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tepe B, Degerli S, Arslan S, Malatyali E, Sarikurkcu C (2011) Determination of chemical profile, antioxidant, dna damage protection and antiamoebic activities of Teucrium polium and Stachys iberica. Fitoterapia 82:237–246

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tepe B, Malatyali E, Degerli S, Berk S (2012) In vitro amoebicidal activities of Teucrium polium and T. chamaedrys on Acanthamoeba castellanii trophozoites and cysts. Parasitol Res. doi:10.1007/s00436-011-2698-4

  • Upcroft P, Upcroft JA (2001) Drug targets and mechanisms of resistance in the anaerobic protozoa. Clin Microbiol Rev 14:150–164

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Upcroft JA, Campbell RW, Benakli K, Upcroft P, Vanelle P (1999) Efficacy of new 5-nitroimidazoles against metronidazole-susceptible and -resistant Giardia, Trichomonas, and Entamoeba spp. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 43:73–76

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Walochnik J, Duchêne M, Seifert K, Obwaller A, Hottkowitz T, Wiederman G, Eibl H, Aspöck H (2002) Cytotoxic activities of alkylphosphocholines against clinical isolates of Acanthamoeba spp. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 46:695–670

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wani MY, Athar F, Salauddin A, Agarwal SM, Azam A, Choi I, Bhat AR (2011) Novel terpene based 1,4,2-dioxazoles: snythesis, characterization, molecular properties and screening against Entamoeba histolytica. Eur J Med Chem 46:4742–4752

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yin MC, Cheng WS (1998) Antioxidant activity of several Allium members. J Agric Food Chem 46:4097–4101

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study is financially supported by the Research Council of Cumhuriyet University (CUBAP), Sivas-TURKEY by the project numbered with F-346.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Parasitology, School of Medicine, Cumhuriyet University, 58140, Sivas, Turkey

    S. Degerli & E. Malatyali

  2. Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Science and Literature, Cumhuriyet University, 58140, Sivas, Turkey

    S. Berk & B. Tepe

Authors
  1. S. Degerli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. S. Berk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. B. Tepe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. E. Malatyali
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to B. Tepe.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Degerli, S., Berk, S., Tepe, B. et al. Amoebicidal activity of the rhizomes and aerial parts of Allium sivasicum on Entamoeba histolytica . Parasitol Res 111, 59–64 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-011-2801-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-011-2801-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation