Antiprotozoal Effects of the Tomato Tetrasaccharide Glycoalkaloid Tomatine and the Aglycone Tomatidine on Mucosal Trichomonads
Poster Number
07C
Format
Poster Presentation
Faculty Mentor Name
Kirkwood Land
Faculty Mentor Department
Biological Science
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. Since only two antimicrobials are available, there is an increasing number of T. vaginalis strains developing drug resistance, leading to an increasing number of untreatable trichomoniasis cases. Tritrichomonas foetus is a related protozoan that causes infections in bovines and domesticated cats. Although T. vaginalis and T. foetus 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 gives 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. Tomatine was found to inhibit growth of the T. vaginalis G3 strain completely at 20 uM concentrations with an IC50 value of 7.9 uM. In addition, tomatine is potent against T. foetus C1 and D1 strains as the compound completely inhibited growth at 50 uM in both strains. Tomatine also yielded IC50 values of 2.2 uM and 1.9 uM for C1 and D1 respectively. The potential for tomatine’s antimicrobial properties warrants for further research on the compound.
Location
DeRosa University Center, Ballroom
Start Date
29-4-2017 1:00 PM
End Date
29-4-2017 3:00 PM
Antiprotozoal Effects of the Tomato Tetrasaccharide Glycoalkaloid Tomatine and the Aglycone Tomatidine on Mucosal Trichomonads
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. Since only two antimicrobials are available, there is an increasing number of T. vaginalis strains developing drug resistance, leading to an increasing number of untreatable trichomoniasis cases. Tritrichomonas foetus is a related protozoan that causes infections in bovines and domesticated cats. Although T. vaginalis and T. foetus 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 gives 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. Tomatine was found to inhibit growth of the T. vaginalis G3 strain completely at 20 uM concentrations with an IC50 value of 7.9 uM. In addition, tomatine is potent against T. foetus C1 and D1 strains as the compound completely inhibited growth at 50 uM in both strains. Tomatine also yielded IC50 values of 2.2 uM and 1.9 uM for C1 and D1 respectively. The potential for tomatine’s antimicrobial properties warrants for further research on the compound.