AUTHOR=Yao Na , He Jia-Kang , Pan Ming , Hou Zhao-Feng , Xu Jin-Jun , Yang Yi , Tao Jian-Ping , Huang Si-Yang 

TITLE=In Vitro Evaluation of Lavandula angustifolia Essential Oil on Anti-Toxoplasma Activity

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2021.755715

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2021.755715

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<p>The current methods of treating toxoplasmosis have a number of side effects, and these therapies are only effective against the acute stage of the disease. Thus, development of new low toxicity and efficient anti-<italic>Toxoplasma</italic> drugs is extremely important. Natural products are important sources for screening new drugs; among them, essential oils (EOs) have efficacy in anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-insect, and other aspects. In this study, 16 EOs were screened for their anti-<italic>T. gondii</italic> activity. <italic>Lavandula angustifolia</italic> essential oil (<italic>La</italic> EO)was found to have an anti-parasitic effect on <italic>T. gondii</italic>. The cytotoxicity of <italic>La</italic> EO was firstly evaluated using the MTT assay on human foreskin fibroblast (HFF) cells, and then the anti-<italic>T. gondii</italic> activity was evaluated by plaque assay. Finally, the invasion experiment and electron microscope observation were used to study the mechanism of <italic>La</italic> EO in anti-toxoplasma activity. The results indicated that the CC<sub>50</sub> of <italic>La</italic> EO was 4.48 mg/ml and that <italic>La</italic> EO had activity against <italic>T. gondii</italic> and the inhibition was in a dose-dependent manner under safe concentrations. <italic>La</italic> EO was able to reduce <italic>T. gondii</italic> invasion, which may be due to its detrimental effect on changes of the morphology of tachyzoites. These findings indicated that <italic>La</italic> EO could be a potential drug for treating toxoplasmosis.</p>