and evaluations of essential oil activity against .

OBJECTIVE

Willd. (Geraniaceae) is widely grown as an ornamental plant due to its strong pleasant rose-like odor. The present study evaluates the antitrichomonal effect of essential oil (EO) against both and and compares it to that of metronidazole (MTZ) as a standard antitrichomonal drug.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

assays were accomplished in multi-well plates containing MTZ and EO at final concentrations of 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 μg/mL. assay was carried out on 40 experimentally infected pigeons receiving MTZ and EO at doses of 25 and 50 mg/kg.

RESULTS

The 24-hr MIC of MTZ was 10 µg/mL, while for EO it was 20 µg/mL. Treatment with MTZ 50 mg/kg after 4 days led to full recovery of infected pigeons however EO 50 mg/kg resulted in the same outcome after 5 days. No mortality or clinical side effects were seen in treated birds.

CONCLUSION

The present study introduced EO as a potent natural antitrichomonal agent effective against . Bioactive components of can be used as potential therapeutic compounds in development of novel antitrichomonal drugs.