| Methylene blue, the first fully synthetic drug, has been widely used in medical treatments. A few decades ago, this drug was used as an antimalarial agent. In this study, the in vitro inhibitory effect of methylene blue on Babesia bovis, B. bigemina, B. caballi, and Theileria equi (B. equi) and the in vivo inhibitory effect on B. microti were evaluated. Methylene blue significantly inhibited the growth of B. bovis, B. caballi, and T. equi at a 0.1 μM concentration, while B. bigemina was significantly inhibited at 0.01 μM, on day 3 of cultivation. The half maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of methylene blue against B. bovis, B. bigemina, B. caballi, and T. equi were calculated as 0.83±0.02, 0.68±0.09, 0.54±0.14, and 0.49±0.06 μM, respectively. The... |
