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In vitro schistosomicidal activity of curcumin against Schistosoma mansoni adult worms

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Abstract

The in vitro schistosomicidal activity of curcumin (doses ranging from 5 to 100 μM) was carried out against Schistosoma mansoni adult worms. Curcumin (at 50 and 100 μM) caused death of all worms. When tested at the doses of 5 and 20 μM, it decreased the worm viability in comparison with negative (Roswell Memorial Park Institute (RPMI) 1640 medium alone or RPMI 1640 medium with 10% dimethyl sulfoxide) and positive (heat-killed worms at 56°C or praziquantel 10 μM) control groups. All pairs of coupled adult worms were separated into individual male and female by the action of curcumin at the doses of 20 to 100 μM. When tested at 5 and 10 μM, curcumin reduced egg production by 50% in comparison with the positive control group. It is the first time that the schistosomicidal activity has been reported for curcumin.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to CAPES for fellowships and FAPESP for financial support. We are also thankful to Elenice Aparecida Macedo and Olinda Mara Brigatto for technical support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, 14049-900, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil

    Lizandra G. Magalhães, Carla Botelho Machado, Enyara Rezende Morais, Érika Bueno de Carvalho Moreira, Cláudia Sossai Soares, Sérgio Henrique da Silva & Vanderlei Rodrigues

  2. Grupo de Pesquisas em Produtos Naturais, Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Exatas e Tecnológicas da Universidade de Franca, 14404-600, Franca, São Paulo, Brazil

    Ademar A. Da Silva Filho

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  1. Lizandra G. Magalhães
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  2. Carla Botelho Machado
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  3. Enyara Rezende Morais
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  4. Érika Bueno de Carvalho Moreira
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  5. Cláudia Sossai Soares
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  6. Sérgio Henrique da Silva
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  7. Ademar A. Da Silva Filho
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  8. Vanderlei Rodrigues
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Correspondence to Ademar A. Da Silva Filho.

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Magalhães, L.G., Machado, C.B., Morais, E.R. et al. In vitro schistosomicidal activity of curcumin against Schistosoma mansoni adult worms. Parasitol Res 104, 1197–1201 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-008-1311-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-008-1311-y

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