Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, Mansoura, 35516, Egypt.
Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, 35516, Egypt.
Acta Parasitol. 2023 Mar;68(1):32-41. doi: 10.1007/s11686-022-00635-0. Epub 2022 Nov 8.
Cryptosporidium parvum is a protozoan parasite infecting most mammalian hosts and causing major health issues. The present study investigated the efficacy of ginger (Zingiber officinale), garlic (Allium sativum), and pomegranate (Punica granatum) peel extracts on the development and progression of experimental cryptosporidiosis in mice.
Eighty-two mice were assigned to 6 groups: control, infected non-treated, metronidazole (MTZ), ginger, garlic, and pomegranate. The control group topically received no treatments. The infected non-treated group was experimentally infected by 10 C. parvum oocysts per mouse using a stomach tube. The MTZ group was infected with C. parvum oocysts combined with MTZ (50 mg/kg b.w./day). The ginger, garlic, and pomegranate groups daily received different plant extracts at doses of 100 mg/kg BW, 50 mg/kg BW, and 3 gm/kg BW, respectively, followed by infection with C. parvum oocysts. All treatments were applied orally one day after the infection for continuous 30 days.
Histopathological and immunohistochemical examinations for P53 and caspase-3 expressions in stomach and spleen tissues showed that MTZ and garlic-treated mice had a more significant effect on infected mice.
The garlic extract was found to exert a more pronounced effect on infected mice compared with the other treatments as well as to improve health. Garlic extracts, therefore, represent an effective and natural therapeutic alternative for the treatment of cryptosporidiosis with low side effects and without drug resistance.
微小隐孢子虫是一种感染大多数哺乳动物宿主的原生动物寄生虫，会导致严重的健康问题。本研究调查了生姜（Zingiber officinale）、大蒜（Allium sativum）和石榴（Punica granatum）皮提取物对实验性隐孢子虫病小鼠发育和进展的疗效。
82 只小鼠被分为 6 组：对照组、未治疗感染组、甲硝唑（MTZ）组、生姜组、大蒜组和石榴组。对照组经皮不接受任何治疗。未治疗感染组通过胃管用 10 个微小隐孢子虫卵囊/只感染。MTZ 组用 MTZ（50mg/kg b.w./天）感染微小隐孢子虫卵囊。生姜、大蒜和石榴组分别每天给予不同剂量的植物提取物，剂量分别为 100mg/kg BW、50mg/kg BW 和 3gm/kg BW，然后用微小隐孢子虫卵囊感染。所有治疗均在感染后第 1 天口服，连续 30 天。
胃和脾组织的 P53 和 caspase-3 表达的组织病理学和免疫组织化学检查显示，MTZ 和大蒜处理的小鼠对感染小鼠的影响更为显著。
与其他治疗方法相比，大蒜提取物对感染小鼠的作用更为明显，并能改善健康状况。因此，大蒜提取物是一种有效且天然的治疗隐孢子虫病的替代方法，副作用低，且无耐药性。
