Molecular and Clinical Microbiology In Vitro Activity of Mentha longifolia Leaves and Pimpinella anisum Seeds Against a Clinical Strain of Trichomonas Vaginalis

1. Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. 2. Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 3. Dep. Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 4. Dept. of Health and Community Medicine, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history: Received 31 April 2015 Accepted 19 May 2015 Available online 1 June 2015 Trichomoniasis is one of the most common urinary-genital tract disease. The causal agent of trichomoniasis is flagellate protozoan called Trichomonas vaginalis. Metronidazole and tinidazole are the drug of choice for trichomoniasis treatment. However, carcinogenic and embryo-teratogenic effects of the mentioned drugs and resistance to metronidazole has been reported. According to cytotoxic effects of medicinal herbs including Mentha longifolia and Pimpinella anisum on microbial organisms and their traditional use in sexually transmitted diseases the in vitro activity of the Mentha longifolia and Pimpinella anisum against a clinical strain of Trichomonas vaginalis was investigated. Concentrations of aqueous extract of Mentha longifolia leave (100-250 μg/ml) and Pimpinella anisum seed (100-500 μg/ml) were obtained. Trichomonas vaginalis isolated from patient with urogenital complications was cultivated in TYI-S-33 medium. After treatment of T. vaginalis (1 x 10) with various concentrations of extracts, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was calculated and data were analyzed by repeated measures using SPSS software. Aqueous extract of Mentha longifolia decreased the average number of live parasites, in accordance of the time and concentration manner. The MIC of Mentha longifolia at 24 and 48 h were 250 and 200 μg/ml, respectively. The percent of growth inhibition under various concentration of Pimpinella anisum showed only 73.7% and 86.9% at 500 μg/ml concentration after 24 and 48 hours, respectively. The present study demonstrate the higher anti-Trichomonas activity of Mentha longifolia in comparison to Pimpinella anisum. There is a clear need to isolate effective fragments of Mentha longifolia in future and expand the data for in vivo evaluation including cell culture and animal models study.