Morphological Changes of Trichomonas vaginalis Treated by Ornidazole: An In-Vitro Study.

Background: Nitroimidazoles, which are drugs that are used to effectively treat Trichomonas vaginalis, alter the structure of the T. vaginalis cell membrane, penetrate into its cytoplasm and nucleus and block cellular metabolism. In this study, we observed the morphological changes that occurred in T. vaginalis during in vitro exposure to 1.3 μg/mL of ornidazole at various time intervals ranging from 10 minutes to 10 hours.

Methods: Vaginal and urethral secretion samples from suspected T. vaginalis cases were inoculated into Cysteine Peptone Liver Maltose medium. In 18 sterile tubes, 9.5 mL of this solution were mixed with 0.5 mL of ornidazole. The periods of contact between ornidazole and T. vaginalis ranged from 10 minutes to 10 hours.

Results: The first change was vacuolization, which started in the 10th minute of exposure. The glycogen particles started to diminish in the 20th minute.

Conclusions: During exposure to 1.3 mg/L of ornidazole, cell lysis began in the 30th minute and accelerated towards the 60th minute (p < 0.001). Cytoplasmic matrix integrity was impaired in the 60th minute (p < 0.001).