TY - JOUR JF - sjimu JO - J. Ilam Uni. Med. Sci. VL - 18 IS - 1 PY - 2010 Y1 - 2010/4/01 TI - Evaluation of Leishmanicidal Effect of Watery & Ethanolic Flowers Calendula officinalis Extract on Promastigotes of Leishmania Major (MRHO/IR/75/ER) in Vitro TT - ارزیـــــــابی کشندگی عصاره ی الکلی و آبی گل همیشه بهار(Calendula officinalis)بر پروماستیگوت‌های لیشمانیا ماژور(MRHO/IR/75/ER) در شرایط آزمایشگاهی N2 - Introduction: Calendula officinal is a member of Asteraceae family. Calendula officinal is used for the treatment of skin disorders and pain. It is also applied as a bactericide, antiseptic or anti-inflammatory drug. In this study, the leishmanicidal effect of Calendula officinal with various concentrations was evaluated on promastigotes of L. major in vitro. Materials & Methods: The dried and ground flowers of the plant were extracted using maceration in 80% ethanol, and then the liquid was dehydrated in an evaporator. Afterwards, different concentrations of the extract (500 µg/ ml, 250 µg /ml, 125 µg/ml and 62.5 µg/ml) were prepared in vitro and 5×104 promaastigotes/well were seeded in a 96-well cell culture plate and was added 100µl of each extract/well. The plate was incubated at 24oC for three days and the number of parasites in each well was determined on 24h, 48h, and 72h of experiment microscopically using Neubauer Chamber. RPMI culture medium was used as one negative control. Findings: The extract at concentration of 500µg/ml was found to kill all the parasites. Lower doses exhibited a dose-dependent antileishmanial activity. However, the number of L. major promastigotes in the negative control increasingly grew on 24h, 48h, and 72h respectively. IC50 was calculated for ethanolic & watery Calendula officinalis 170µg/ml, 215µg/ml after 24h respectively. Discussion & Conclusion: These results indicated that extract of Calendula officinalis is of favorable leishmanicidal activity and can be a candidate for leishmaniasis treatment. SP - 28 EP - 33 AD - KW - : leishmania major KW - Calendula officinalis KW - extract UR - http://sjimu.medilam.ac.ir/article-1-283-en.html ER -