Anti-Giardia activity of phenolic-rich essential oils: effects of Thymbra capitata, Origanum virens, Thymus zygis subsp. sylvestris, and Lippia graveolens on trophozoites growth, viability, adherence, and ultrastructure

Abstract

The present work evaluates the anti-Giardia activity of phenolic-rich essential oils obtained from Thymbra capitata, Origanum virens, Thymus zygis subsp. sylvestris chemotype thymol, and Lippia graveolens aromatic plants. The effects were evaluated on parasite growth, cell viability adherence, and morphology. The tested essential oils inhibited the growth of Giardia lamblia. T. capitata essential oil is the most active followed by O. virens, T. zygis subsp. sylvestris, and L. graveolens oils. The tested essential oils at IC50 (71-257) microg/ml inhibited parasite adherence (p < 0.001) since the first hour of incubation and were able to kill almost 50% of the parasites population in a time-dependent manner. The main ultrastructural alterations promoted by essential oils were deformations in typical trophozoite appearance, often roundly shape, irregular dorsal and ventral surface, presence of membrane blebs, electrodense precipitates in cytoplasm and nuclei, and internalization of flagella and ventral disc. Our data suggest that essential oils induced cell death probably by processes associated to the loss of osmoregulation caused by plasmatic membrane alterations. Experiments revealed that the essential oils did not present cytotoxic effects in mammalian cells. In conclusion, T. capitata, O. virens, T. zygis subsp. sylvestris chemotype thymol, and L. graveolens essential oils have antigiardial activity in vitro and seem to have potential for the treatment of the parasitic disease caused by the protozoan G. lamblia.

Chemical Composition and Trypanocidal Activity of the Essential Oils from Hedychium coronarium J. Koenig (Zingiberaceae)

“…Essential oils and essential oil constituents have been studied, in the last years, for their activity on several pathogenic protozoan as Giardia sp. [10][11][12], Leishmania sp. [13,14], and Trypanosoma sp.…”

The Evaluation of Stachys lavandulifolia Leave Extracts on Cysts of G. Lamblia, in Vitro

“…Several investigations have indicated that extract of folklore plants with phenolic consistent shows great anti giardial effects (29,30). Some constituents have been isolated from S. lavandulifolia, mainly flavonoids with high antibacterial, antifungal, and anti parasital characteristics (10,13,17).…”

Producción de plántula de orégano (Lippia graveolens Kunth) por semilla en vivero para trasplante

“…The oregano plant has been studied and tested as an anticancer, pesticide and antimicrobial food preservative Machado et al, 2010;Martínez-Rocha, Puga, Hernández-Sandoval, Loarca-Piña, & Mendoza, 2008;Zheng & Wang, 2001). The chemical composition of the stem has been studied due to its important content of flavonoids, which can contribute to the development of new compounds for agronomy and medicine applications (González-Güereca, Soto, Kite, & Martínez, 2007).…”

“…El orégano se ha estudiado y probado como conservador de alimentos, anticancerígeno, plaguicida y antimicrobiano (Machado et al, 2010;Martínez-Rocha, Puga, Hernández-Sandoval, LoarcaPiña, & Mendoza, 2008;Zheng & Wang, 2001). También se ha estudiado la composición química del tallo por su contenido importante de flavonoides que pueden contribuir al desarrollo de nuevos compuestos con aplicaciones en la agronomía y medicina (González-Güereca, Soto, Kite, & Martínez, 2007), lo cual le da aún más importancia a la planta.…”