Abstract
The antigiardial effects of albendazole were demonstrated in vivo using experimental infections ofGiardia duodenalis in mice. These results complement previous in vivo studies in which albendazole was shown to have more potent antigiardial action than the currently applied antigiardial drugs. In mice, 2–4 doses (>100 mg/kg twice daily) were required for complete inhibition of cyst excretion and full elimination of trophozoites from the small intestine. The high doses necessary in mice were not unexpected and are discussed in light of the possible pharmacokinetics of albendazole in the animal model used in this study.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Al-Waili NS (1987) Mebendazole inTrichomonas hominis. Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol 14:679–680
Al-Waili NS, Al-Waili BH, Saloom KY (1988) Therapeutic use of mebendazole in giardial infections. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 82:438
Cheng-i W (1988) Parasitic diarrhoeas in China. Parasitol Today 4:284–287
Firth M (1983) Albendazole in helminthiasis. (Royal Society of Medicine International Congress and Symposium Series 57) Royal Society of Medicine/Academic Press/Grune & Stratton, London
Gascon J, Moreno A, Valls ME, Miro JM (1989) Failure of mebendazole treatment inGiardia lamblia infection. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 83:647
Horton RJ (1990) Benzimidazoles in a wormy world. Parasitol Today 6:106
Islam A (1990) Giardiasis in developing countries. In: Meyer EA (ed) Giardiasis. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 235–266
Jokipii L, Jokipii AMM (1979) Single-dose metronidazole and tinidazole as therapy for giardiasis: success rates, side effects, and drug absorption and elimination. J Infect Dis 140:984–988
Meloni BP, Lymbery AJ, Thompson RCA (1988) Isoenzyme electrophoresis of 30 isolate; ofGiardia from humans and felines. Am J Trop Med Hyg 38:65–73
Meloni BP, Thompson RCA, Reynoldson JA, Seville P (1990a) Albendazole: a more effective antigiardial agent in vitro than metronidazole or tinidazole. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 84:375–379
Meloni BP, Thompson RCA, Reynoldson JA, Seville P, Reynolds K (1990b) Albendazole: a highly effective antigiardial agent. Procedings, 7th International Congress on Parasitology, Paris, August 20–24
Meyer EA (1990) Preface. In: Meyer EA (ed) Giardiasis. Elsevier, Amsterdam, p vi
Morris DL, Dykes PK, Dickson B, Marriner SE, Bogan JA, Burrows FG (1983) Albendazole in hydatid disease. Br Med J 286:103–104
Reynoldson JA, Thompson RCA, Meloni BP (1991) The mode of action of benzimidazoles againstGiardia, and their chemotherapeutic potential againstGiardia and other protozoa. In: Coombs GH, North MJ (eds) Biochemical protozoology. Taylor and Francis, London (in press)
Saimot AG, Meulemans A, Cremieux AC, Giovanangeli MD, Hay JM, Delaitre B, Coulaud J (1983) Albendazole as a potential treatment for human hydatidosis. Lancet II:652–656
Speelman P (1985) Single-dose tinidazole for the treatment of giardiasis. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 27:227–229
Upcroft JA, Upcroft P, Boreham PFL (1990) Drug resistance inGiardia intestinalis. Int J Parasitol 20:489–496
Voogd CE (1981) On the mutagenicity of nitroimidazoles. Mutat Res 86:243–277
Warren KS (1989) Selective primary health care and parasitic diseases. In: McAdam KPWJ (ed) New strategies in parasitology. Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh, pp 217–231
Webster LT (1985) Drugs used in the chemotherapy of protozoal infections. In: Gilman AG, Goodman LS, Rall TW, Murad F (eds) The pharmacological basis of therapeutics, 7th edn. MacMillan, New York, pp 1049–1057
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Dedicated to Prof. Dr. J. Eckert (Zürich) on the occasion of his 60th birthday
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Reynoldson, J.A., Thompson, R.C.A. & Meloni, B.P. In vivo efficacy of albendazole againstGiardia duodenalis in mice. Parasitol Res 77, 325–328 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00930909
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00930909