Low scolicidal effect of Ocimum bacilicum and Allium cepa on protoccoleces of hydatid cyst: an in vitro study

Hydatidosis in humans and animals is an economic and public health treat in many parts of the world, and surgery is still the main treatment for hydatid disease. One of the most important endpoints of hydatid cyst surgery is recurrence. The main cause of recurrence is dissemination of protoscolices during the surgical operation. Preoperative destruction of the cyst’s contents through instillation of a scolicidal agent into the hydatid cyst is the most commonly used approach to prevent this complication. Various scolicidal agents have been used for inactivation of the cyst content, but most are accompanied by adverse side effects. In the present study, the scolicidal effect of methanolic extract of Ocimum bacilicum and Allium cepa is investigated. Protoscoleces were aseptically collected from sheep livers containing hydatid cyst and were used in the experiments. O . bacilicum and A . cepa extracts were used in 2.5, 5, and 10 % concentration for 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 min. Viability of protoscoleces was confirmed by 0.1 % eosin staining. The scolicidal effect of O . bacilicum and A . cepa extracts was not satisfactory and a 10 % concentration of these extracts after 60 min of application, killed only 24.1 and 16.8 % of protoscolices, respectively. Result of this study showed that, as opposed to the fact that these extracts have a strong antibacterial effect, they have low scolicidal activity and cannot be used as scolicidal agent; on the contrary of in vitro inefficacy, the in vivo efficacy of these extracts and also their possible side effects remained to be examined.