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Background and Objectives: Cutaneous leishmaniasis is one of the most important health-threatening diseases in Iran and other countries. Glucantime is currently used to treat this disease, but due to its side effects and high resistance, alternative therapies such as the use of nanoparticles have been considered by researchers. This study aims to investigate the anti-leishmania activity of silver nanoparticles on Leishmania major in vitro. Methods: This is an experimental study on the anti-leishmania activities of silver nanoparticles at different concentrations of 0.75-0.96 µg/ml after 24, 48 and 72 hours of exposure to 106 live Leishmania major promastigotes. The numbers of live parasites were counted by Trypan Blue on a neobar slide using optical microscope (Hemocytometer method). Glucantime and distilled water were considered as positive and negative controls, respectively. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) was calculated by SigmaPlot™ software, v‌ersion 13. All reactions were done three times and their average was considered as final result. Results: All concentrations of silver nanoparticles had anti-leishmania activity, where the concentration of 96 µg/ml had the highest effect (100%) 72 hours after exposure. The IC50 was obtained 36.67, 27.2 and 21.08 µg/ml after 24, 48 and 72 hours of exposure, respectively. Conclusion: Silver nanoparticles have an inhibitory effect on the growth of Leishmania major in different concentrations. However, further in-vivo studies are needed to determine the effictivness of silver nanoparticles.

Background and Objectives: Cutaneous leishmaniasis is one of the common diseases between humans and animals that is considered a health problem in Iran and many countries around the world. Currently, glucantime is used to treat cutaneous leishmaniasis. Due to its high side effects and resistance, the use of alternative therapies, especially plants and natural compounds, has been highly recommended by researchers. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of the methanolic extract of dandelion root (Taraxacum officinale) on Leishmania major in vitro techniques. Methods: In this experimental study, the extract was prepared by the Soxhlet method and to evaluate the effect of methanolic extract of dandelion root on L. major parasite at concentrations of 300-1200 mg/ml. Amphotericin B and distilled water were considered as positive and negative controls, respectively. Then, 106 live parasites were added to all tubes, and all groups were kept at 25 ±1 °C. At 24, 48, and 72 hours, the number of live parasites was counted by Trypan Blue using a neobar slide and light microscope (Hemocytometer method). Then Half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value for the above extract was calculated using SigmaPlot™ 13 software. All steps of the experiment were done in triplicate and the results were considered as average. Results: The IC50 content of methanolic extract of dandelion roots after 24, 48, and 72 hours on L. major were calculated to be 1.04, 0.9, and 0.68 µg/ml. The highest growth inhibition (100%) was observed at a concentration of 1200 μg/ml after 72 hours of exposure. There was a significant difference between the IC50 extract and amphotericin B drug after 24, 48 and 72 hours (P

Background and Objectives: Trichomonas vaginalis is a flagellate protozoan that is the most common sexually parasitic transmitted infection in the world. Metronidazole is currently used for the treatment of trichomoniasis, which has side effects. In recent years, the use of plants and natural compounds has been considered by researchers. This study was conducted to investigate the anti-trichomonal activity of methanolic extract of Hyssopus officinalis on Trichomonas vaginalis in vitro. Methods: In this experimental study, the extract was prepared by Soxhlet method, and to evaluate the effect of methanolic extract of Hyssopus officinalis on Trichomonas vaginalis parasites, the concentrations of 50, 100, 200, 400, 600, 800, 1,000, 1,200, and 1,400 μg/ml was prepared. Metronidazole and distilled water were considered as positive and negative controls, respectively. Afterward, 105 live parasites were added to all tubes, and all groups were kept at 37°C. Live parasites were counted at 24, 48, and 72 h intervals by Trypan Blue using a neobar slide and light microscope (Hemocytometer). Subsequently, the IC50 value for the above extract was calculated using SigmaPlot ™ software (version 13). It should be noted that all steps of the experiment were performed in triplicate and the results were considered as average. Results: The IC50 of methanolic extract of Hyssopus officinalis on Trichomonas vaginalis parasite was calculated at 965.8, 730.4, and 542.1 μg/ml after 24, 48, and 72 h, respectively. The highest mortality rate (100%) was observed at a concentration of 1,400 μg/ml after 72 h of exposure. Conclusion: Methanolic extract of Hyssopus officinalis in different concentrations had an inhibitory effect on the growth of the Trichomonas vaginalis parasite. Further and more comprehensive studies are suggested to investigate the constituents of this plant and the lethal effect of the parasite in vivo conditions.