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Eugenol: effective complementary treatment for cryptosporidiosis in experimentally infected mice

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Abstract

Cryptosporidiosis is an opportunistic, globally distributed parasitic disease. Whereas Cryptosporidium causes asymptomatic infection and diarrhea in healthy people, it may lead to severe illness in immunocompromised individuals. Limited, effective therapeutic alternatives are available against cryptosporidiosis in those categories of patients. So, we are in urgent need of better drugs for the treatment of cryptosporidiosis. Fifty male Swiss albino mice were used. Mice were grouped into five groups of ten mice each. Group I was left uninfected, and four groups were infected with 1000 oocysts of cryptosporidium. The first infected group was left untreated. The remaining three-infected groups received nitazoxanide (NTZ), eugenol, and eugenol + NTZ, respectively, on the 6th day post infection (dpi) for five days. Mice were sacrificed on the 30th dpi. The efficacy of treatment was evaluated using parasitological, biochemical, and histopathological parameters. Combination therapy of eugenol with NTZ caused a significant reduction of the number of oocysts secreted in stool and improved cryptosporidiosis-induced liver injury manifested by the restoration of normal levels of liver enzymes (ALT and AST). Treatment with eugenol-NTZ combination maintained a well-balanced antioxidant status, as evidenced by a reduced level of nitric oxide (NO) and increased antioxidant Superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzyme activity. Moreover, the combination of eugenol with NTZ resulted in the restoration of the normal morphology of intestinal villi, crypts, and muscularis mucosa. Based on the findings extracted from the present work, we can conclude that eugenol is a complementary therapeutic when used with NTZ in the treatment of cryptosporidiosis. The addition of eugenol to NTZ in the treatment of cryptosporidiosis synergized the effect of NTZ, causing a greater reduction of the number of shedded oocysts, improving liver enzyme levels, and restoring normal intestinal pathology. Therefore, we presume that eugenol's antioxidant capacity accounts for the protective effect seen in the current study. We suggest eugenol as a supplemental chemotherapeutic agent with good therapeutic potential and high levels of safety in the treatment of cryptosporidiosis based on the findings of the current study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, 21589, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

    Hattan S. Gattan

  2. Special Infectious Agents Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, 21589, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

    Hattan S. Gattan

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

    Samer S. Fouad

  4. Department of Medical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt

    Reham A. Ellisy

  5. Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences-Scientific Departments, Qassim University, 52571, Buraidah, Saudi Arabia

    Hayam Elshazly

  6. Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University, Beni Suef, 62521, Egypt

    Hayam Elshazly

  7. Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, South Valley University, Qena, 83523, Egypt

    Asmaa M. El-kady

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  1. Hattan S. Gattan
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  2. Samer S. Fouad
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Gattan, H.S., Fouad, S.S., Ellisy, R.A. et al. Eugenol: effective complementary treatment for cryptosporidiosis in experimentally infected mice. J Parasit Dis (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12639-024-01676-0

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