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According to the statistics provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), about 80% of the world population nowadays uses herbal drugs for treatment of diseases. Natural products obtained from medicinal plants, serve as a great source for drug production and are the main basis of new drug compounds. Unicellular organisms (Protozoa) are the cause of deaths and spread of diseases in various societies, especially in developing countries. There are anti-malaria herbal dugs produced from various medicinal plants, some of which are used for treatment of the disease and some under study. The first anti-malaria drug was quinine, produced from bark of the Cinchona tree. Recently, the drug artemisinin has been introduced by Chinese scientists for the treatment of malaria and is currently used extensively. Coetaneous leishmaniosis (salak) is one of the endemic diseases in most parts of Iran. Common drugs used against leishmaniosis (such as glucantim), have severe side-effects and in 10 to 25% of cases, there is a recurrence of the disease. Emetine is one of the drugs obtained from a root of the plant Ipecac, which is used for treatment of the disease sub-cutaneously. Giardiasis is an acute protozoan infection usually with no clinical symptoms, however, may appear as acute or chronic diarrhea. According to the announcement of WHO, more than 2/3 of the world’s population is infected with intestinal parasites and the prevalence of giardia is higher than other intestinal parasites. Herbal drugs, such as wild garlic, eucalyptus and thyme, are some of the major plants which can annihilate the giarda cysts. Annually, 75000 to 100000 people die of amebiasis (dysentery) worldwide. Due to the motility of the organism, it causes sever pathological changes and sometimes colon ulcers, and if entered into the blood stream, it may appear as liver or brain abscess. Medicinal plants such as ipecac, mango, and papaya tree are some of the anti-amebic (Entamoeba histolytic) plants. Trichomoniasis is a protozoal urogentital infection in men and women transmitted through sexual intercourse. The most effective drug against trichomona is metronidazole, albeit, there are several reports on its side effects and its spread of resistance. Medicinal plants, such as Myrtle and Lavender are among the main plants whose extracts and essence are effective against Trichomonas vaginalis.

Keywords: Protozoa, herbal drugs, malaria, amoeba, leishmania, giardia, trichomonas

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