During the course of infection with Trichinella spiralis, an inflammatory response is triggered at the intestinal level in the host, playing a crucial role in the expulsion and elimination of the parasite. However, several studies have demonstrated that this inflammatory response is harmful to the host; hence, the importance of studying molecules with therapeutic potential like resiniferatoxin, which is known to have an anti-inflammatory effect both in vitro and in vivo. In this article, we evaluated the anti-inflammatory activity of resiniferatoxin during the intestinal phase of T. spiralis infection by quantitatively determining the levels of TNF-α, NO and PGE as well as the percentage of eosinophils in the blood and intestinal pathology. In addition, parasite burden was determined during the muscle infection. Our results show that resiniferatoxin lowered the serum levels of TNF-α, NO and PGE , as well as the percentage of eosinophils in the blood and intestinal pathology during the intestinal infection. Moreover, resiniferatoxin also lowered the parasite burden in muscle, resulting in a reduction of the humoral response (IgG) associated to treatment with resiniferatoxin. These findings suggest a potential therapeutic use of the anti-inflammatory effect of resiniferatoxin, which also contributes to host defence against the challenge of T. spiralis infection.

Summary Within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it is stated that everyone has the right to an adequate standard of living, which ensures, as well as their family, health and well-being, and food, thereby ensuring adequate nutrition. One of the major threats to overcome this is to ensure food security, which becomes particularly challenging in developing countries due to the high incidence of parasitic diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO), considers it one of the main causes of morbidity, closely linked to poverty and related to inadequate personal hygiene, consumption of raw food, lack of sanitary services, limited access to drinking water and fecal contamination in the environment. It is estimated that more than a fifth of the world’s population is infected by one or several intestinal parasites, and that in many countries of Central and South America the average percentage of infected people is 45%, being Taenia solium, Echinococcus granulosus, Toxoplasma gondii, Cryptosporidium spp, Entamoeba histolytica, Trichinella spiralis, Ascaris spp, Trypanosoma cruzi and Fasciola hepatica some of the most important ones in the neotropics. One of the main reasons why these diseases are diffi cult to control is t he ignorance of their lifecycles, as well as symptoms and current epidemiology of the disease, which contributes to a late or erroneous diagnosis. The present work aims to discuss and make public the current knowledge as well as the general characteristics of these diseases to the general audience.

Inflammation is a physiological response of the innate immune system against several endogenous or exogenous stimuli. Inflammation begins with an acute pattern; however, it can become chronic by activating the adaptive immune response through cellular and noncellular mechanisms. The main etiologic factor of periodontal disease is bacteria which substantially harbor the human oral cavity. The most common periodontal diseases are gingivitis and periodontitis, whose main characteristic is inflammation. The knowledge of how immune mechanisms and inflammatory responses are regulated is fundamental to understanding the pathogenesis of periodontal disease. The purpose of this chapter is to show the current panorama of the immunological mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease.

Microalgae have several applications in nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, biofuel production, and bioremediation, among other fields. Isolation and purification are extremely important for obtaining axenic cultures of microalgae from different environments and crucial for their biotechnological applications, but it is not an easy task. In view of the above, it is fundamental to know the classical and advanced techniques and examples of how scientists from around the globe have applied such methods to isolate several genera and the impact of each step on successful algal purification. This review provides a brief and simple explanation of the methodology for sampling, growth, obtention of unialgal, and posterior axenic culture, which will facilitate the development of novel microalgae-related discoveries and applications for new researchers.