In vitro anti-protozoal activity of the plant glycoalkaloid tomatine
Poster Number
3
Format
Poster Presentation
Faculty Mentor Name
Kirkwood Land
Faculty Mentor Department
Biological Sciences
Abstract/Artist Statement
Trichomoniasis is a common, non-viral, sexually transmitted disease caused by Trichomonas vaginalis, an anaerobic protozoan, with millions of cases each year. Although the infection is prevalent, the only treatments available for the STD is the use of antibiotic drugs metronidazole and tinidazole. Also, the number of untreatable cases of trichomoniasis are increasing due to the growing strains of drug resistant T. vaginalis. Tritrichomonas foetus is a related protozoan that causes infections in bovines and domesticated cats. Although the two protozoans are closely related, normal treatment with metronidazole and tinidazole on T. foetus are ineffective. The increasing amount of drug-resistance cases and the lack of treatment for infection in animals gave rise to the need for developing alternative treatments for the infection. It is common knowledge that many natural products, such as tomatoes and pomegranates, are beneficial for animal health, so we tested several natural compounds on both T. vaginalis and T. foetus to see if they had any antimicrobial effects. Of all the natural compounds tested, tomatine is found to be exceptionally effective in inhibiting T. vaginalis growth. We found that tomatine inhibits growth of T. vaginalis completely at 20 uM concentrations with IC50 of 7.887 uM. In addition, tomatine is potentially very potent on T. foetus as tomatine inhibited growth at 50 uM in both strains of T. foetus tested, C1 and D1.
Location
DeRosa University Center, Ballroom
Start Date
30-4-2016 10:00 AM
End Date
30-4-2016 12:00 PM
In vitro anti-protozoal activity of the plant glycoalkaloid tomatine
DeRosa University Center, Ballroom
Trichomoniasis is a common, non-viral, sexually transmitted disease caused by Trichomonas vaginalis, an anaerobic protozoan, with millions of cases each year. Although the infection is prevalent, the only treatments available for the STD is the use of antibiotic drugs metronidazole and tinidazole. Also, the number of untreatable cases of trichomoniasis are increasing due to the growing strains of drug resistant T. vaginalis. Tritrichomonas foetus is a related protozoan that causes infections in bovines and domesticated cats. Although the two protozoans are closely related, normal treatment with metronidazole and tinidazole on T. foetus are ineffective. The increasing amount of drug-resistance cases and the lack of treatment for infection in animals gave rise to the need for developing alternative treatments for the infection. It is common knowledge that many natural products, such as tomatoes and pomegranates, are beneficial for animal health, so we tested several natural compounds on both T. vaginalis and T. foetus to see if they had any antimicrobial effects. Of all the natural compounds tested, tomatine is found to be exceptionally effective in inhibiting T. vaginalis growth. We found that tomatine inhibits growth of T. vaginalis completely at 20 uM concentrations with IC50 of 7.887 uM. In addition, tomatine is potentially very potent on T. foetus as tomatine inhibited growth at 50 uM in both strains of T. foetus tested, C1 and D1.