Ashtari Frough, Mahami-Oskouei Mahmoud, Spotin Adel, Ahmadpour Ehsan, Aali Hadi, Mahmoodpour Hamid, Kohansal Mohammad Hasan
Immunology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
BMC Complement Med Ther. 2025 Apr 8;25(1):127. doi: 10.1186/s12906-025-04869-z.
Acanthamoeba is a resilient protozoan that causes serious diseases such as Acanthamoeba Keratitis (AK). Due to the ineffectiveness of many drugs against this parasite, plant extracts provide a promising alternative in the treatment process. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the aqueous extract of Eucalyptus microtheca against Acanthamoeba trophozoites and cysts in vitro.
In the current experimental study, Acanthamoeba isolate was cultured in a non-nutritive agar (NNA) medium. Aqueous extracts of Eucalyptus microtheca were prepared at concentrations of 10, 20, 40, and 80 mg/ mL, with exposure times of 30, 60, 90, and 120 min for trophozoites and 24, 48, and 72 h for cysts. Chlorhexidine (0.02%) and PBS served as positive and negative controls, respectively. Viability was assessed using 1% eosin dye.
Our study revealed that the aqueous extract of Eucalyptus microtheca significantly reduced the number of both trophozoites and cysts. At 80 mg/ mL, the extract completely eliminated cysts (100%) after 24 h and reduced trophozoites by 99.33% within 120 min.
This study indicates that Eucalyptus microtheca aqueous extract possesses significant anti-Acanthamoeba properties, with effects strongly associated with concentration and exposure time (p < 0.001).
棘阿米巴是一种具有韧性的原生动物，可引发严重疾病，如棘阿米巴角膜炎（AK）。由于许多药物对这种寄生虫无效，植物提取物在治疗过程中提供了一种有前景的替代方案。本研究旨在评估细叶桉水提取物在体外对棘阿米巴滋养体和包囊的有效性。
在当前的实验研究中，将棘阿米巴分离株培养在无营养琼脂（NNA）培养基中。制备浓度为10、20、40和80mg/mL的细叶桉水提取物，滋养体的暴露时间为30、60、90和120分钟，包囊的暴露时间为24、48和72小时。洗必泰（0.02%）和磷酸盐缓冲液（PBS）分别作为阳性和阴性对照。使用1%伊红染料评估活力。
我们的研究表明，细叶桉水提取物显著减少了滋养体和包囊的数量。在80mg/mL时，提取物在24小时后完全消除了包囊（100%），并在120分钟内将滋养体减少了99.33%。
本研究表明，细叶桉水提取物具有显著的抗棘阿米巴特性，其效果与浓度和暴露时间密切相关（p < 0.001）。
