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Leishmaniasis is the neglected disease among parasitic diseases with an increasing rate of infections. Recently, numerous studies have been conducted on the leishmanicidal properties of various essential oils (EOs). In this resarch, literature have been systematically reviewed, from 20 years ago, and required information have been extracted. Overally, leishmanicidal effects of ~ 180 EOs against promastigotes of nine species of Leishmania have been documented. Inhibitory concentrations 50% (IC50) of around 30 essential oils were less than 10 µg.mL-1. Essential oils of Tetradenia riparia, Nectandra hihua, and Thymus hirtus with IC50s of 0.01, 0.20, and 0.25 µg.mL-1 against Leishmania amazonensis, Leishmania infantum, and Leishmania major respectively, were identified as the most effective essential oils. Furthermore, IC50 of Thymus hirtus on Leishmania infantum was 0.43 µg.mL-1. Frequently, substantial differences were found between the observed IC50s of one essential oil against promastigotes of different species of Leishmania. It can be concluded that the leishmanicidal activity of essential oils is selective. Turning to the results, the combination of essential oils for the design of multifunctional drugs can lead to excellent outcomes. Interestingly, the results have been classified by promastigote species, so this would be a valuable benchmark for researchers.

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Balantidium coli is a common parasite of pig and wild boars (Sus scrofa) which can infect humans and several species of mammals. This study aimed to determine the genotype of Balantidium isolated from Eurasian wild boars in Bushehr province, Southwestern Iran. Twenty‐five faecal samples, originating from 25 wild boars captivated in our previous study, were processed. DNA was extracted from the faecal samples and PCR‐amplified, targeting an ITS1–5.8s‐rRNA–ITS2 region of Balantidium genome. PCR product was purified from the gel, and sequenced. BLAST analysis was performed in order to compare our isolates with other previously reported ones. A phylogenetic tree was constructed, using MegaX software, to find out the phylogenetic diversity of the isolates. With PCR it was possible to detect Balantidium DNA in the faecal samples of 13 out of 25 (52%) of the wild boars. BLAST analysis of seven isolates revealed that the isolates belong to the newly introduced genus Neobalantidium coli. Sequences of three isolates were deposited in the GenBank. Moreover, molecular analysis revealed six areas of nucleotide differences within the isolates and nine areas of difference between the sequences obtained in this study and those available in the GenBank. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the sequences of isolates of this study have up to 2.2% dissimilarity from those published in the GenBank. The findings of this study, for the first time, revealed that some of the isolates of Balantidium originating from wild boars in Southwestern Iran belonged to the N. coli.

Background: The current study aimed to investigate the possible cross-protective effects of attenuated L. major against L. infantum in BALB/c mice. Methods: This experimental study was performed in 2017 in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. The attenuated strain of L. major was prepared by continuous weekly subculturing of the parasite. Forty-eight female BALB/c mice were divided into eight groups. Group 1 injected (ID) with wild type of L. major; group 2 injected (IV) with L. infantum; group 3 injected (ID) with attenuated L. major; group 4 injected (ID) with attenuated L. major, and after three weeks challenged (IV) with L. infantum; group 5 injected (IP) with attenuated L. major; group 6 injected (IP) with attenuated L. major, and challenged (IV) with L. infantum (IV); group 7 injected (IV) with attenuated L. major; and finally group 8 injected (IV) with attenuated L. major and after three weeks challenged (IV) with L. infantum. Forty-five days post-infection, the parasite load in the spleen and liver of the mice was determined as Leishman-Donovan units (LDU). Results: The differences in mean of LDU of spleen between different groups were statistically significant (P<0.048). In addition, the differences in percent of infection in liver between pairwise comparisons of groups were statistically significant (P<0.05). The highest intensity of infection was observed in group 2 while low intensity of infection was seen in groups 3, 4 and 5. Conclusion: Live attenuated L. major can induce substantial protection against L. infantum, particularly when the parasites were injected intravenously.