Phenotypic changes of Trichinella spiralis treated by Commiphora molmol,Lepidium sativum, and Albendazole: in vitro study

Abstract

Summary Trichinellosis is a nematode-causing disease distinguished by its continuous transmission in the carnivores and omnivores. Despite effective eradication of the enteral forms, conventional drugs fail to eliminate the migrating and muscle ones. Over the past years, researchers intensified the work on herbal medicines as alternatives or aids to albendazole, the reference drug. This research hypothesizes that the therapeutic agent absorption route could be an evidence-based carrier molecule or auxiliary drug to albendazole. Accordingly, this in vitro study was designed to investigate mainly the phenotypic changes induced by a mono-treatment of albendazole, Lipidium sativum (garden cress), and Commiphora molmol (myrrh). Incredibly, no data were reported on the morphological alterations of T. spiralis larvae treated by any of these drugs. The experimental design tested various concentrations (25, 50, 100, and 200 μg/ml) of each herbal medicine for the lethal effects on the parasite forms for a day (1, 12, and 24h). The data showed that the highest significant mortality rate of the parasite forms was in favor of the concentration 200 μg/ml of both plant extracts in a time-dependent manner. Therefore, albendazole at 200 μg/ml dose was tested in parallel, and all experimental groups were compared to non-treated muscle larvae and worms. Albendazole-treated worms accounted for the least significant (p<0.001) survival rate (2 %), followed by myrrh (5 %), and the adverse was valid for the survival rate of the muscle larvae at that time. None of the larvae/worms was alive after 24 hours of incubation with the 200μg/ml of either treatment. The scanning electron microscope investigation of the experimental groups provided a shred of evidence for different routes of taking up the candidate drugs by the parasite. In conclusion, the results of the previous work in vivo and current in vitro study recommend myrrh over garden cress as a complementary agent of albendazole.

A multimodality therapeutic application on Toxoplasma gondii encephalitis utilizing Spiramycin and ‘de novo’ Ferula asafetida in immunodeficient mice

“…30,32 In our lab, researchers are dedicating their efforts to discovering phytochemicals or repurposing drugs that can be affordable and feasible for curing such challenging diseases. 18,33,34 On the one hand, this study aimed to mimic various human health conditions (immunocompetent and immunocompromised) when uptaking FA (spice), SP (antibiotic), or their combination in coincident and precedent to the infection with T. gondii. Hence, immune suppression with DMS was induced at different intervals, and three batches were investigated for the therapeutic effects of the candidate drugs at the latent stage.…”

“…In addition, FA contains valuable medicinal compounds such as sesquiterpene coumarins, terpenoids, sulfur‐containing compounds, and esters 15,16 . The traditional medicinal applications of FA comprise stomach diseases, cancer, women's ailments, blood pressure, 17 and anti‐helminthic 18,19 . The herb was tested in vivo for its effects on the intestinal tract 20‐22 .…”

“…15,16 The traditional medicinal applications of FA comprise stomach diseases, cancer, women's ailments, blood pressure, 17 and anti-helminthic. 18,19 The herb was tested in vivo for its effects on the intestinal tract. [20][21][22] Furthermore, in vitro studies demonstrated the effects of FA against human rhinovirus 15 and cancer on the human NT2 embryo carcinoma stem cell line.…”

Updated Treatment Modalities of Trichinellosis: Review Article

“…e) Myrrh: Mice treated with myrrh on day 0 post infection and again on day 5 had an efficacy of 80.7% and 51.5%, respectively. Myrrh was effective in reducing the number of encysted larvae by 76.6% and 35.0% at 15 and 35 days after infection, respectively (10) .…”

Assessment of the potential prophylactic and therapeutic effects of kaempferol on experimental Trichinella spiralis infection

“…Trichinellosis is a zoonotic disease in humans caused by multiple species of the Trichinella genus, with Trichinella spiralis being one of the most prevalent and pathogenic species. The primary transmission mode is consuming undercooked pork products containing infective larvae (Dyab et al , 2019; Abuelenain et al , 2022). Trichinella spiralis infection in humans occurs in two stages: an intestinal phase (enteral infection); and a muscle phase (parenteral infection) (Elgendy et al , 2020).…”