Fig. 3

Inhibitory effects of decocted (DEC) and ethanol (ETOH) extracts (50 µg/mL) on cell rounding induced by two different concentrations (100 and 500 µg/mL) of Tox-S from C. difficile RT001 clinical strain on Vero cells. (A) Microscopic cell morphology of Vero cells co-treated with Tox-S and DEC or ETOH extracts for 4, 8, 24 h at 37 °C in comparison with untreated cells. Light microscopy (200X magnification), Scale bar = 100 μm. (B) Percentage of inhibition of Vero cell rounding induced by Tox-S and co-treated with DEC or ETOH extracts for 4, 8, 24 h at 37 °C in comparison with untreated cells. Number of round cells was normalized to the cells treated with Tox-S exhibiting 100% cytotoxicity. Data shown are means ± SD of three independent experiments