Scolicidal effects of Berberis vulgaris fruit extract on hydatid cyst protoscolices

Surgery is one of the best choices for the treatment of hydatidosis. The use of effective scolicidal agents during surgery for hydatid cyst is essential to prevent the secondary infection. Up to now no effective and safe agent has been identified for this purpose. Berberis vulgaris called “Zereshk” in Persian has been traditionally used as herbal remedy for the treatment of complaints and it is widely cultivated in Iran. Many studies have shown that it has antibacterial، antifungal and antiparasitic effect. In this study the scolicidal effect of Berberis vulgaris aqueous and hydro-alcohol extract for different concentrations (for aqueous: 0. 5، 1، 2 and 4 mg/ml and for hydro-alcohol: 0. 25، 0. 5، 1 and 2 mg/ml) at different exposure times (5، 15 and 30 minutes) was evaluated. For this purpose، we obtained liver hydatid-cysts from a slaughter house. Viability of protoscolices was assessed by 0. 1% eosin staining. Normal saline and hypertonic saline were used as negative and positive controls respectively. All the different concentrations of Berberis vulgaris aqueous and hydro-alcoholic extracts had scolicidal effect. An aqueous extract with 4mg/ml concentration acted as positive control and we observed to lead to the death of 100% of protoscolices in the first 5 minutes. The least scolicidal effect (12. 3%) was observed in an aqueous extract with 0. 5 mg/ml concentration. The scolicidal activity of hydro-alcoholic extract with concentration of 2 mg/ml was 100% after 5 min of application، which was the same as positive control group. We noticed a significant increase in protoscolicidal activity with an increase in concentration in the two extracts of Berberis vulgaris (P<0. 001). It is important to mention that all the concentration levels and exposure times applied in this experiment are relatively low، since scolitical activity in both of the extracts is at its highest in this low spectrum. For further experiments، we suggest that the stability of cyst fluid in both of the extracts should be assessed. Therefore، after In vivo examination and additional experiments، it may be used as a suitable and effective scolicidal in surgery.