Background: Toxoplasmosis is a widespread disease in humans and many other species of warm-blooded animals. Among livestock animals, sheep and goat are more widely infected by Toxoplasma gondii. This parasite is a major cause of abortion, with significant economic losses for sheep and goat breeders. Objectives: The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method was employed to detect of the T. gondii DNA in the milk of sheep and goats based on its B1 gene.
Materials and methods:A total of 625 milk samples were collected from 345 sheep and 280 goats from randomly selected flocks of NorthWest of Iran. Results: Of 625 examined milk samples, 19 animals (3.04%) yielded a specific T. gondii B1 fragment (529 bp), of which T. gondii was detected in 16 (4.63%) sheep and 3 (1.07%) goat milk samples. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the PCR products of T. gondii with AluI restriction enzyme produced only one distinct pattern among all positive samples, which indicates that one RFLP profile of T. gondii exists in the study area. Conclusions: Presence of T. gondii DNA in the milk of sheep and goats raises the possibility that this parasite is transmitted through consumption of raw milk. Since sheep and goats are important milk sources in Iran, there is a high risk of contamination through milk from these hosts due to their susceptibility to infection. Further studies are required on milk producing animals to implement effective control strategies against toxoplasmosis.
Background: Application of chemotherapy to treatment of parasitic disease of man and animals can be problematic due to different adverse effects. As a result, there is an increasing interest in nanoparticles as new therapeutic tools against these diseases. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of selenium and copper oxide nanoparticles on Giardia deudenalis cysts in vitro, as well as comparing it to that of metronidazole.
Methods: The cysts were taken from the stools of patients in Urmia, Iran, during 2017-2018. The cysts were taken from stool and were concentrated and isolated on 0.85 M-sucrose. Then, selenium and copper oxide nanoparticles were prepared at concentrations of 0.15, 0.3, and 0.6 mg/ml. The effect of nanoparticle’s various concentrations at 10, 15, 30, 60, and 180 min were evaluated and compared to control groups. Obtained data was recorded and statistically analyzed.
Results: Copper oxide nanoparticles at a concentration of 0.6 mg/ml and selenium nanoparticles at a concentration of 0.3 mg/ml had the same effect as of metronidazole in killing of Giardia cysts. The cytotoxic effects of selenium and copper oxide nanoparticles, compared with metronidazole, on Giardia cysts, showed an increase of fatality rate due to extend exposure time and nanoparticle’s concentration (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Selenium and copper oxide nanoparticles are as efficient as metronidazole, for killing Giardia cysts in vitro.
The use of chemicals for the control of arthropod pests can be problematic due to the potential for both environmental contamination and resistance development. As a result, there is an increasing interest in nonchemical alternatives, such as biocontrol by entomopathogenic fungi. In the present study, three strains of Metarhizium anisopliae (V245, 3247, and 4456) and one strain of Beauveria bassiana (LM 3.2) were evaluated under laboratory conditions for their virulence towards three life stages of Ornithodoros lahorensis. Groups of eggs, larvae, and adult ticks were treated by immersion in two different suspensions (10(5) and 10(7) conidia/ml) of each fungal strain. All treatment and control groups were observed during a 3-week period, and the hatchability of eggs and mortality percentage of larvae and adult ticks were assessed. The effect of fungal strains on egg hatchability and larva and adult mortality was significant and dose dependent compared to the control groups (P < 0.05). The results also showed that the greatest biopesticidal effect was due to strain 4456 of M. anisopliae and LM 3.2 strain of B. bassiana at all tested concentrations, making these fungi potential biological control agents of O. lahorensis reducing the use of chemical acaricides.
Background: Chemotherapy is currently used in treatment of different diseases, yet its various adverse effects has led to difficulties in its use for treating hydatid cysts. This leads to use of different non-chemical materials, such as plant extracts as alternatives to chemotherapy in order to cure hydatid cysts.
Objectives:The aim of the present study was to investigate Quercus infectoria Olivier extract effects on hydatid cysts. Methods: In this experimental study, various concentrations of Quercus infectoria Olivier extract at different exposure times were evaluated under laboratory conditions for their scolicidal effects on hydatid cysts. To this end, protoscoleces were collected from the livers of sheep affected by hydatid cysts and they were placed under exposure of various concentrations of Q. infectoria extract (10, 25, and 50 mg/mL) for various durations of 10, 20, 30, and 60 minutes. Staining with 0.1% eosin was used to specify the viability of protoscoleces. The SPSS software (version 19, Chicago) was the software used to perform the statistical analysis.
Results:The obtained results indicate that Q. infectoria extract with the concentration of 50 mg/mL is able to kill all protoscoleces during 20 minutes. It is understood that the scolicidal effects of Q. infectoria on hydatid cysts was significant compared to the control groups (P < 0.05).
Conclusions:The obtained results delineate higher scolicidal efficacy of Q. infectoria's methanolic extracts; nevertheless, more research should be conducted to confirm the in vivo effects of Q. infectoria on curing hydatid cysts in human beings and different herbivorous animals.
This study investigated the in vitro anthelmintic activity of copper oxide (CuO) and zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) against Marshallagia marshalli. The in vitro study was based on an egg hatch assay, adult and larvae motility inhibition assays, DNA damage, intensity protein profile along with several oxidative/nitrosative stress biomarkers including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), protein carbonylation (PCO), malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant status (TAS) and nitric oxide (NO) content. Different concentrations of CuO-NPs and ZnO-NPs (1, 4, 8, 12 and 16 ppm) were used to assess anthelmintic effects on three stages of M. marshalli life cycle – that is, eggs, larvae and adult parasites for 24 h. The results indicated that CuO-NPs and ZnO-NPs played a significant role as anthelminthics, and the effect was dependent on time and concentration. The concentrations of 12 and 16 ppm of CuO-NPs and 16 ppm of ZnO-NPs resulted in the induction of oxidative/nitrosative stress (decreased SOD, GSH-Px and CAT, and increased MDA, PCO and NO), increased DNA damage, inhibition of adult and larval motility, egg hatch and low intensity of protein bands following sodium dodecyl sulphate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, compared to control. It was concluded that CuO-NPs and ZnO-NPs could be utilized as novel and potential agents for the control and treatment of M. marshalli infection, and they have the pharmacological potential to be studied in vivo for further utilization in treating parasitic infections.
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