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The in vitro anti-giardial activity of extracts from plants that are used for self-medication by AIDS patients in southern Thailand

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Abstract

This study evaluated the anti-giardial activity of chloroform, methanol and water extracts of 12 medicinal plants (39 extracts), commonly used as self medication by AIDS patients in southern Thailand. The plant extracts and a standard drug, metronidazole, were incubated with 2×105 trophozoites of Giardia intestinalis per millilitre of growth medium in 96-well tissue culture plates under anaerobic conditions for 24 h. The cultures were examined with an inverted microscope and the minimum inhibitory concentration and the IC50 value for each extract was determined. The chloroform extracts from Alpinia galanga, Boesenbergia pandurata, Eclipta prostrata, Piper betle, Piper chaba, Zingiber zerumbet, and the methanol extracts from B. pandurata and E. prostrata were classified as “active”, i.e. with an IC50 of <100 μg/ml, whereas the chloroform extract from Murraya paniculata was classified as being “moderately active”. This study shows that extracts from some medicinal plants have potential for use as therapeutic agents against G. intestinalis infections.

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Acknowledgements

This research was partly funded by a grant from the Thai Government. The authors would like to thank Prof. Brian Hodgson for useful advice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Natural Products Research Unit and Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Hat-Yai, 90112, Songkhla, Thailand

    N. Sawangjaroen, S. Phongpaichit & K. Jamjaroen

  2. Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, 90112, Songkhla, Thailand

    S. Subhadhirasakul

  3. Department of Protozoology, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, 10400, Bangkok, Thailand

    C. Siripanth

  4. Natural Products Research Unit and Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, 90112, Songkhla, Thailand

    K. Sawangjaroen

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  1. N. Sawangjaroen
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  2. S. Subhadhirasakul
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  3. S. Phongpaichit
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  4. C. Siripanth
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  5. K. Jamjaroen
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  6. K. Sawangjaroen
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Correspondence to N. Sawangjaroen.

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Sawangjaroen, N., Subhadhirasakul, S., Phongpaichit, S. et al. The in vitro anti-giardial activity of extracts from plants that are used for self-medication by AIDS patients in southern Thailand. Parasitol Res 95, 17–21 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-004-1264-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-004-1264-8

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