Aim:The study was conducted to evaluate the pathological effects of trypanosomosis on the testes, gonadal, and epididymal sperm reserves of Yankasa rams for 98 days.Materials and Methods:A total of 16 Yankasa rams, aged between 24 and 30 months and weighed between 22 and 25 kg, were acclimatized for a period of 2-months in a clean fly proof house and were adequately fed and given water ad-libitum. Of the 16 rams, 12 that were clinically fit for the experiment at the end of the acclimatization period were randomly divided into four groups: Groups I, II, III, and IV, each having 3 rams. Groups I and II were each challenged singly with experimental Trypanosoma brucei brucei (Federer strain) and Trypanosoma evansi (Sokoto strain), respectively, while Group III was challenged with mixed T. brucei brucei and T. evansi parasites (50% of each species in the infective inoculum) and Group IV was left as an uninfected control. Each infected ram received 2 mL of the infected blood containing 2×106 trypomastigotes via the jugular vein, while the control group received 2 mL each, normal saline.Results:All the infected rams developed clinical signs typical of trypanosomosis at varying pre-patent periods. The gross lesions observed in the infected rams in Group II were moderate and more severe in those of Groups I and III. Histological sections of the testes of infected rams (Groups I, II, and III) showed moderate (T. evansi-infected group) to severe (mixed and T. brucei brucei-infected groups) testicular degenerations with reduction in number of spermatogenic cell layers, degenerated seminiferous tubules, congested interlobular spaces, loss of tissue architecture with significant (p<0.01) depletion, and loss of gonadal and epididymal sperm reserves in Groups I and III in comparison to Group II and the control Group IV. No observable clinical signs and histopathological lesions were found in those rams of the control Group IV.Conclusion:The study concluded that trypanosomosis due to experimental T. brucei brucei or T. evansi or mixed infections (of both parasites) caused testicular damage, decreased epididymal and gonadal sperm reserves and an important cause of infertility in Yankasa rams.

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Background The problem of drug resistance and toxicity in trypanosomiasis is ever-increasing, thereby creating a need to search for efficacious and safer alternatives that are of plant origin. We designed the present study to assess the oral acute toxicity, and anti-trypanosomal activity of Brillantaisia owariensis in mice. Methods Fifty-eight BALB/c mice were used for this study. For toxicity assessment, eighteen mice were divided into two groups of nine mice each, and acute single oral administration of the aqueous and methanol whole plant extracts of B. owariensis was assessed for each group as per Lorke’s method. Mice were observed for signs of toxicity of liver and kidney organs after two weeks of oral administration. For the anti-trypanosomal activity, forty mice were divided into eight groups of five mice. Mouse in each group was inoculated with 0.1 mL containing106T. brucei /mL. Following patency of 3 days, mice were treated at different dosages of methanol and aqueous extracts. Pre-infection, post-infection, and post-treatment data for rectal temperature, body weight, parasiteamia level, packed cell volume, and daily survival were monitored. Results The acute oral toxicity studies (LD50) for methanol and aqueous plant extracts in this study were calculated as 3535 mg/kg/body weight, and are non-toxic. No obvious histopathologic observation in the liver and kidney tissues. The mean daily rectal temperature and mean weights of all the treated mice were restored to normal values and significant (P, 0.05) in comparison to the positive control. Parasitaemia clearance by both extracts was suppressive. The mean PCV values were significantly increased following treatment, and there was prolonged survival especially in mice treated with methanol extracts. Conclusion The study concludes that the extracts of B. owariensis are relatively non-toxic with a good safety margin when administered to mice orally. Crude methanol extract exhibited better suppressive and haematinic antitrypanosomal activities than the aqueous extract, and it has a promising effect by its ability to reduce anaemia in mice challenged with T. brucei brucei, and prolonged survival.

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The present study elucidates further on clinical, gross, and microscopic pathologies induced by single or mixed infections with  Trypanosoma evansi and Trypanosoma brucei in sheep. Briefly, the experimental animals were divided into four groups of three  animals each. Animals in each group were either infected with T. brucei, T. evansi, mixed (T. brucei and T. evansi), or noninfected. Animals were observed for clinical, gross, and microscopic pathologies for 98 days (14 weeks). The clinical pathologies observed included loss of body condition, pale ocular mucus membrane, rough hair coat, scrotal oedema, scrotal degeneration, emaciation, and death. At necropsy, macroscopic or gross lesions included very pale and anaemic carcass composition, congested and pneumonic lungs with severe haemorrhages, serous atrophy of intestinal and body fats, lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, and hepatomegaly. Microscopic lesions observed in the testes, spleen, liver, lungs, lymphoid, heart, and brain tissues of infected sheep were varied and included swollen kidney with renal tubular degeneration, the proliferation of lymphocytes at the germinal centers of the spleen, degeneration of the bronchioles, severe testicular degeneration with a reduction in the number of spermatogenic cell layers,  degenerated Leydig and Sertoli cells with loss of sperm reserves in the seminiferous lumen, congested liver with sinusoidal spaces and the proliferation of monocytes and lymphocytes. The results indicate that trypanosomosis due to experimental T. brucei, T. evansi, or mixed infections may be an important cause of various grades of tissue and organ pathologies in sheep in trypanosome-endemic areas. Keywords: Trypanosomosis; Clinico-pathological and microscopic features; Trypanosoma brucei; Trypanosoma evansi; Mixed  infections; Sheep