Inhibitory effect of Tunceli garlic (Allium tuncelianum) on blastocystis subtype 3 grown in vitro

Objective: Blastocystis is a common protozoan parasite detected worldwide. This study aims to investigate the in vitro inhibitory effect of ethyl alcohol extracts of Tunceli garlic (Allium tuncelianum) on growth of Blastocystis ST3 subtype. Methods: Blastocystis ST3 were grown in 3 ml Jones’s medium containing A. tuncelianum prepared at five different concentrations for 72 hours at 37°C. Distilled water was used as negative control whereas metronidazole (MTZ) and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) prepared in 0.1, 0.5 and 1 mg/ml of concentrations was used as the positive control. Results: According to the results, the MIC90 of the A. tuncelianum was 115 mg/ml at 72 hours. MIC90 of MTZ was 1 mg/ml at 72 hours (94.96%). TMP-SMX had the highest growth MIC90 effect which was reached at 1 mg/ml concentration during 24 hours (88.18%). The growth inhibitory effect of A. tuncelianum extract increased gradually in all doses and timepoints. Conclusion: In this study, obtained findings show the potential inhibitory effect of A. tuncelianum plant extract against Blastocystis ST3 which causes symptomatic diarrhea in humans. It may be recommended to consume the whole A. tuncelianum plant as food supplement. A. tuncelianum extract could be considered as an alternative for the potential treatment of Blastocystis infection.