title: Are the fatty acids responsible for the higher effect of oil and alcoholic extract of Nigella sativa over its aqueous extract on Trichomonas vaginalis trophozoites?
abstract: Trichomoniasis, the disease caused by the flagellate protozoan Trichomonas vaginalis is the sexually transmitted infection with the largest annual incidence. Metronidazole is the drug of choice recommended for the treatment of human trichomoniasis but it can lead to drug resistance and many other adverse effects. So, it is necessary for new alternatives for the treatment of this infection. Medicinal plants or herbs could be good alternative regimens to be inexpensive, effective and safe to use. In the present study, the therapeutic potential of Nigella sativa aqueous and alcoholic extracts as well as seeds oil was examined. Different concentrations of these plant preparations were incubated in vitro with cultivated T. vaginalis trophozoites and its effect on growth was compared with metronidazole under the same conditions. Both the alcoholic extract and oil proved to be valuable agents as efficient as metronidazole in treating T. vaginalis infection. The remarkable effect of N. sativa oil may be attributed to the fact that the active principles extracted from N. sativa seeds are mostly from its essential oil (omega 3, 6, 9 as well as 7 fatty acids). However, further experimental and clinical investigations are needed to evaluate and standardize the doses of these natural products to be safe and efficient.
authors.affiliation: Medical Parasitology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, 11566 Egypt ; Clinical Parasitology Unit, Laboratory and Blood Bank Department, King Abdullah Medical City, Mecca, 21955 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mona Abd El-Fattah Ahmad
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Mahmoud
authors.affiliation: Medical Parasitology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, 11566 Egypt.
authors.forename: Heba AbdelKader
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Aminou
authors.affiliation: Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Abbassia, Cairo, 11566 Egypt.
authors.forename: Hanan Ahmed
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Hashem
keywords: Fatty acids; Metronidazole; Nigella sativa aqueous and alcoholic extracts; Nigella sativa oil; Trichomonas vaginalis