[Amebicidal plants extracts]

Abstract

The free-living amoebae from genus Acanthamoeba are the causative agents of granulomatous amebic encephalitis (GAE), a chronic progressive disease of the central nervous system; amebic keratitis (AK), a chronic eye infection; amebic pneumitis (AP), a chronic lung infection, and skin infection. Chemotherapy of Acanthamoeba infection is problematic. The majority of infections have been fatal. Only a few cases are reported to have been treated successfully with very highly toxic drugs. The therapy might be succeed, if the diagnosis and therapy is made at very early stage of infection. In our experiments we used the following plant extracts: Solidago virgaurea, Solidago graminifolia, Rubus chamaemorus, Pueraria lobata, and natural plants products as ellagic acid and puerarin. Those therapeutic agents and plants extracts have been tested in vitro for amebicidal or amebostatic activity against pathogenic Acanthamoeba spp. Our results showed that methanol extracts obtained from plants are active against axenic pathogenic Acanthamoeba sp. trophozoites in vitro at concentration below 0.1 mg/ml. Further studies are needed to investigate whether these extracts are also effective in vivo in animal model of infection with Acanthamoeba sp.