Investigating the protective effect of Dracocephalum moldavica L extract on induction of apoptosis and proliferation of Leishmania major

Subject Areas : Experimental Studies

Mahnaz Karimi ¹ , Elahe Tajbakhsh ² , Hassan Momtaz ³

1 - PhD student of Microbiology, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord Branch, Iran.
2 - Professor, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord Branch, Iran.
3 - Department of Microbiology, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, Iran

Received: 2024-08-02 Accepted : 2024-11-17 Published : 2025-01-23

Keywords: apoptosis, Leishmania major, lemon balm plant, proliferation,

Abstract :

Introduction: Due to the prevalence of leishmaniasis in different regions of the world and Iran and considering that pentavalent compounds of antimony have many side effects for the treatment of the disease; the use of medicinal plants has been emphasized. This research was conducted in order to determine the effect of the extract of the medicinal plant Dracocephalum moldavica L on Leishmania major Amastigote in laboratory conditions by colorimetric method. Methodology: In this experimental study, Leishmania Major standard strain was cultured in RPMI1640 culture medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum FBS and penicillin-streptomycin antibiotics and until full growth at 37 degrees temperature and 5% CO2 pressure in the incubator. It was kept in sterile conditions for 3-4 days. Then, in the stationary phase of growth, the effect of different concentrations of lemon balm plant extracts compared to the control drug on Leishmania major amastigote in laboratory conditions was investigated using the MTT colorimetric method. Results and conclusion: The percentage of live parasites in the presence of different concentrations of lemon balm extract and effective compounds decreased significantly after different times of parasite culture. The IC50 value of lemon balm extract and effective compounds at different times showed a significant effect in inhibiting Leishmania major.

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