Activity of propolis in an experimental model of Pneumocystosis

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the anti Pneumocystis effects of propolis on Pneumocystis carinii P. carinii in rat model.

METHODS: Rats were obtained, and the study was taken in to place in Erciyes University Clinical and Experimental Research Center, Kayseri, Turkey, in June 2007. In order to obtain spontaneous pneumonia, rats were remained on immunosuppression therapy with dexamethasone throughout the study. Propolis administered orally at doses of 30, 50, and 100 mg/kg/day. Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX, 50/250 mg/kg/day) was used as positive control and untreated animals as negative control in the study. There were 6 animals in each group.

RESULTS: Untreated animals showed P. carinii infection level with a mean +/= standard deviation log number of cysts per gram of lung tissue of 4.6 +/= 1.6 at the end of the experiment. Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole 50/250 mg/kg/day has significantly reduced the log number of cysts per gram to 1.8 +/= 1.6 (p<0.001). There was no reduction found in the number of cysts in infected animals treated with 30, 50, and 100 mg of propolis/kg/day, and so the results were not statistically significant (p>0.05) compared with the control group.

CONCLUSION: In our rat model of pneumocystosis the efficacy of propolis, this was used in folk medicine since ancient times, found completely ineffective.