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Immunomodulatory and antiparasitic effects of garlic extract on Eimeria vermiformis-infected mice

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Abstract

We investigated the immunomodulatory and parasiticidal effects of garlic extract on coccidiosis caused by Eimeria vermiformis infection in male ICR mice. One group received garlic extract daily until the end of the experiment by the oral route from 10 days prior to oral infection with 300 sporulated E. vermiformis oocysts (infected-garlic+). The other group served as a control positive with E. vermiformis infection alone (infected-garlic−). In the infected-garlic+ group, garlic extract treatment induced a significant reduction in fecal oocyst output when compared with the infected-garlic− group. Histopathological, immunohistochemical, and gene expression analysis for inflammatory cytokines in ileal tissues showed that the garlic extract treatment impaired intracellular development of E. vermiformis during the early stages by increasing the number of intraepithelial CD8+ T cells and decreasing IL-10 expression. This induced cell cytotoxicity which was reflected by a decrease in oocyst numbers in the intestinal villi and the feces, indicating anticoccidial effects of the garlic extract. However, further studies to explore the precise mechanism of the observed effects of garlic treatment during Eimeria infection are needed to verify our results.

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Acknowledgments

One of the authors, A.M. Khalil, received financial support from the Egyptian government for Channel System Program towards a PhD. This work was supported by the Project for Zoonoses Education and Research, University of Miyazaki, Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Miyazaki, Gakuen-Kibanadai-Nishi 1-1, Miyazaki, 889-2192, Japan

    Atef Mohammed Khalil, Ayman Samir Farid & Yoichiro Horii

  2. Center for Animal Disease Control, University of Miyazaki, Gakuen-Kibanadai-Nishi 1-1, Miyazaki, 889-2192, Japan

    Atef Mohammed Khalil, Ayman Samir Farid & Yoichiro Horii

  3. Department of Pathology and Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, South Valley University, Qena, 83523, Egypt

    Atef Mohammed Khalil, Mouchira Mohammed Mohi-Eldin & Mohie Haridy

  4. Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Miyazaki, 1-1 Gakuen-Kibanadai-Nishi, Miyazaki, 889-2192, Japan

    Masahiro Yasuda

  5. Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Benha University, Moshtohor, Toukh, 13736, Qalyubia, Egypt

    Ayman Samir Farid

  6. Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, 12211, Egypt

    Mohamed Ibrahim Desouky

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  1. Atef Mohammed Khalil
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  2. Masahiro Yasuda
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  7. Yoichiro Horii
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Correspondence to Yoichiro Horii.

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Khalil, A.M., Yasuda, M., Farid, A.S. et al. Immunomodulatory and antiparasitic effects of garlic extract on Eimeria vermiformis-infected mice. Parasitol Res 114, 2735–2742 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-015-4480-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-015-4480-5

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