title: Chemical composition of essential oil and anti trichomonas activity of leaf, stem, and flower of Rheum ribes L. extracts.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Trichomoniasis is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in humans and is caused by the protozoan Trichomonas vaginalis. Nowadays, increasing resistance to drugs such as metronidazole resulted in many problem, so new effective remedies are needed. In this study, we evaluate constituents of essential oil and anti-trichomonas activity of Rheum ribes.
  
  
  METHODS
  The essential oil from Rheum ribes L. flower growing wild in Iran was analyzed by GC/MS. The parasites were treated with different extract and fractions of the flower, stem, and leave of the plant. Anti-trichomonas activity was evaluated using an in vitro assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all, 19 compounds were identified; palmitic acid [27.08%], n-eicosane [9.9%], n-tetracosane [7.34%], linoleic acid [6.56%], and ethyl linoleate [4.76%] were the main components of the oil. Rheum ribes extracts and fractions concentration dependently inhibited the ability of parasites to growth. This was associated with polarity of solvent used for fractionation and plant parts used for extraction.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings demonstrate the potential of Rheum ribes extracts as an anti-trichomonas agent for human use. Further studies are required to evaluate its toxicity and safety.
authors: Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, I. R. Iran.
authors: Forough
authors: F
authors: Naemi
authors: Isfahan Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, I. R. Iran.
authors: Gholamreza
authors: G
authors: Asghari
authors: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, I. R. Iran.
authors: Hossein
authors: H
authors: Yousofi
authors: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, I. R. Iran.
authors: Hossein Ali
authors: HA
authors: Yousefi
keywords: Essential oil; Rheum ribes; Trichomonas vaginalis