Anti-Parasitic Activity of Myristica Fragrans Houtt. Essential Oil Against Toxoplasma Gondii Parasite

Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans Houtt.) is the seed kernel of inside the fruit. It has been studied to having number of ethnopharmacological properties. Essential oils are secondary metabolites which originated from different parts of plants and made up of volatile compounds. In the present study, the essential oil extracted from nutmeg was investigated for its in vitro cytotoxicity on Vero cell line (normal cell line) and anti-parasitic activity against Toxoplasma gondii parasite. Nutmeg essential oil showed very low cytotoxic activity against Vero cells with IC50 value of 24.83 μg/mL. In the in vitro anti-T.gondii assay, the oil extract showed significant inhibiting activity with EC50 value of 24.45 μg/mL. This result was comparable to the standard drug clindamycin (EC50=16.57 μg/mL.). Based on the promising results, nutmeg essential oil may be further studied for its mechanism of action against T.gondii and to isolate the bioactive compound(s) to treat toxoplasmosis.