in vitro activity of mentha longifolia leaves and pimpinella anisum seeds against a clinical strain of trichomonas vaginalis

trichomoniasis is one of the most common urinary-genital tract disease. the causal agent of trichomoniasis is flagellate protozoan called trichomonas vaginalis. metronidazole and tinidazole are the drug of choice for treatment. carcinogenic and embryo-teratogenic effects of the mentioned drugs and resistance to metronidazole has been reported. according to cytotoxic effects of medicinal herbs including mentha longifolia and pimpinella anisum on microbial organisms and their traditional use in sexually transmitted diseases the in vitro activity of the mentha longifolia and pimpinella anisum against a clinical strain of trichomonas vaginalis was investigated.concentrations of aqueous extract of mentha longifolia leave (100-250 µg/ml) and pimpinella anisum seed (100-500 µg/ml) were obtained. trichomonas vaginalis isolated from patient with urogenital complications was cultivated in tyi-s-33 medium. after treatment of t. vaginalis (1x 106) with various concentrations of extracts, the minimum inhibitory concentration (mic) was calculated and data were analyzed by repeated measures using spss software. the mic of mentha longifolia at 24 and 48 h were 250 and 200 µg/ml, respectively. the percent of growth inhibition under various concentration of pimpinella anisum showed only 73.7% and 86.9% at 500 µg/ml concentration after 24 and 48 hours, respectively. the present study demonstrate the higher anti-trichomonas activity of mentha longifolia in comparison to pimpinella anisum. there is a clear need to isolate effective fragments of mentha longifolia in future and expand the data for in vivo evaluation including cell culture.