Biological Sciences Department, College of Science, King Faisal University, Al Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia.
Central Laboratory, Theodor Bilharz Research Institute, Giza, Egypt.
Trop Biomed. 2023 Mar 1;40(1):45-54. doi: 10.47665/tb.40.1.010.
Cryptosporidiosis is a serious illness in immunodeficient patients, and there is still no drug that can completely remove the parasite from the host. The present study represents the first report investigating the impact of the active molecule chlorogenic acid (CGA), naturally isolated from Moringa oleifera leaf extract (EMOLE), on immunosuppressed, Cryptosporidium parvum-infected BALB/c mice. Mice were divided into five groups: normal mice, infected immunosuppressed mice, and infected immunosuppressed mice treated with EMOLE, CGA, and nitazoxanide (NTZ) drugs. Parasitological, immunological, and histopathological investigations were recorded besides differences in the mice' body weight. Infected control mice showed elevated levels of oocyst shedding throughout the study. The EMOLE- and CGA-treated groups showed 84.2% and 91.0% reductions in oocyst shedding, respectively, with no significant difference compared to the drug control. The inflammatory markers IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α were significantly higher in the infected control group. Treatment with 300 mg/kg/day of EMOLE or 30 mg/kg/day of CGA significantly downregulated pro-inflammatory cytokine levels compared to the infected group, although they did not change significantly compared to the NTZ-treated group. Histopathology of intestinal sections showed inflammatory and pathological changes in the infected control group. Low-grade tissue changes and an obvious improvement in villi structure were seen in mice treated with CGA. This study highlighted the role of CGA, isolated and purified from EMOLE, as an effective anti-inflammatory agent in eradicating C. parvum infection.
隐孢子虫病是免疫功能低下患者的严重疾病，目前仍没有药物可以将寄生虫从宿主中完全清除。本研究首次报道了从辣木叶提取物（EMOLE）中分离得到的活性分子绿原酸（CGA）对免疫抑制、感染微小隐孢子虫的 BALB/c 小鼠的影响。将小鼠分为五组：正常小鼠、感染免疫抑制小鼠、感染免疫抑制小鼠用 EMOLE、CGA 和硝唑尼特（NTZ）药物治疗。除了体重差异外，还记录了寄生虫学、免疫学和组织病理学的调查结果。感染对照组的卵囊脱落水平在整个研究期间均升高。EMOLE 和 CGA 治疗组的卵囊脱落分别减少了 84.2%和 91.0%，与药物对照组相比无显著差异。感染对照组的炎症标志物 IFN-γ、IL-6、IL-1β 和 TNF-α 显著升高。用 300mg/kg/天的 EMOLE 或 30mg/kg/天的 CGA 治疗可显著下调促炎细胞因子水平与感染组相比，但与 NTZ 治疗组相比无显著变化。肠道切片的组织病理学显示感染对照组有炎症和病理变化。用 CGA 治疗的小鼠可见低级别组织变化和绒毛结构明显改善。本研究强调了从 EMOLE 中分离和纯化的 CGA 作为一种有效的抗炎剂，可消除 C. parvum 感染。
