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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine whether alcohol extracts of herbs (Sophora
flavescens Aiton, Sinomenium acutum (Thunb.) Rehder and E.H. Wilson, Pulsatilla koreana
(Yabe ex Nakai) Nakai ex T. Mori, Ulmus macrocarpa Hance and Torilis japonica (Houtt.)
DC.) from South Korea, possess in vitro anti-protozoal activity against cultures of
Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum. These herbs have been used as human anti-parasitics
in Asian countries for many years. Alcohol extracts of these herbs were serially diluted
to final concentrations ranging from 625 to 19.5 ng/ml in media and added to wells
containing either T. gondii or N. caninum tachyzoites in equine dermal (ED) cells.
Parasite growth inhibition was measured using 3H-uracil incorporation as compared
to untreated controls. T. japonica inhibited T. gondii proliferation by 99.3, 95.5,
73.0 and 54.0% in the range from 156 to 19.5 ng/ml, and S. flavescens inhibited T.
gondii proliferation by 98.7, 83.0 and 27.2% in the range from 156 to 39 ng/ml. T.
japonica inhibited N. caninum proliferation by 97.8, 97.9, 85.3 and 46.4% in the range
from 156 to 19.5 ng/ml. S. flavescens inhibited N. caninum proliferation by 98.6,
97.0, 69.5 and 14.0% in the range from 156 to 19.5 ng/ml. Toxicity to host cells was
noted when concentrations of T. japonica and S. flavescens exceeded 625 ng/ml. The
herb extracts from S. acutum, Pulsatilla koreana, and U. macrocarpa also showed toxicity
at higher levels but did not achieve the same inhibition effects at the lower concentrations
against T. gondii and N. caninum as T. japonica and S. flavescens.