SUMMARYThe aim of this study was to assess the antioxidant and anti-schistosomal activities of the garlic extract (AGE) and Nigella sativa oil (NSO) on normal and Schistosoma mansoni-infected mice. AGE (125 mg kg -1 , i.p.) and NSO (0.2 mg kg -1 , i.p.) were administrated separately or in combination for successive 28 days, starting from the 1 st day post infection (pi). All mice were sacrificed at weeks 7 pi. Hematological and biochemical parameters including liver and kidney functions were measured to assess the progress of anemia, and the possibility of the tissue damage. Serum total protein level, albumin, globulin and cholesterol were also determined. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) levels were determined in the liver tissues as biomarkers for oxidative and reducing status, respectively. The possible effect of the treatment regimens on Schistosoma worms was evaluated by recording percentage of the recovered worms, tissue egg and oogram pattern. Result showed that, protection with AGE and NSO prevented most of the hematological and biochemical changes and markedly improved the antioxidant capacity of schistosomiasis mice compared to the infected-untreated ones. In addition, remarkable reduction in worms, tissue eggs and alteration in oogram pattern were recorded in all the treated groups. The antioxidant and antischistosomal action of AGE and NSO was greatly diverse according to treatment regimens. These data point to these compounds as promising agents to complement schistosomiasis specific treatment.

One of the neglected food-borne-diseases in the international public health arena is fascioliasis. It is a serious infectious parasitic disease infecting humans and animals worldwide and tops all the zoonotic helminthes. Human cases are being increasingly reported from Europe, the Americas, Oceania, Africa and Asia. Hence, human fascioliasis is considered now as a zoonosis of major global and regional importance. In Egypt, animal and human fascioliasis is an endemic clinical and epidemiological health problem. Doubtless, understanding the epidemiology of the parasitic diseases and factors affecting their incidence provides the foundation upon which effective prevention and control programs should be established. This article reviews the history, life cycles, transmission, incidence, geographical distribution, and environmental and human determinants that contribute to the epidemiological picture of fascioliasis with special reference to Egypt.

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Spinosad is a bioinsecticide with a high degree of selective toxicity towards insects of different orders, but its toxicity towards the two-spotted spider mite (TSSM), Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) is under debate. In this study, we compared the acaricidal properties of spinosad with the commercial bioacaricide abamectin on the life stages of TSSM. Adulticide and ovicide bioassays were performed on a susceptible laboratory strain using direct spraying of leaf disks with five rates of spinosad (20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 mg/l), five rates of abamectin (0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 1 and 2.5 mg/l), sublethal concentrations or a combination of spinosad and abamectin. Both adulticidal and ovicidal effects of spinosad against T. urticae in the laboratory were apparent, based on morality rates of the adults, reduction of female fecundity and death of offspring. Abamectin was also found to significantly reduce female fecundity and killed offspring when applied directly on the eggs. Interestingly, sublethal concentrations of spinosad reduced female fecundity stronger than abamectin. When a mixture of spinosad and abamectin was applied at LC50, mortality was 74%, fecundity reduction was comparable to abamectin alone and egg hatching rate was lower than by either compound alone. In conclusion, spinosad was more harmful than abamectin for TSSM life stages and the combined application is recommended.

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SUMMARYThe present study was undertaken to assess the effect of the crude extract of Cleome droserifolia (CD) leaves on experimentally infected mice with Schistosoma mansoni. Two groups of mice, showing a patent infection of S. mansoni, one of them was daily treated with an alcoholic extract of CD leaves (0.31 g kg -1 body weight, i.p.) for 21 days. The schistosomicidal activity of the CD extract was evaluated, three weeks post-treatment, on some parasitological and histopathological aspects including worm load, oogram pattern, faecal eggs releasing and granuloma formation. In addition, serum thyroid hormones levels (tri-iodothyronine; T 3 and tetra-iodo-thyronin; T 4 ), serum total protein contents and hepatic reduced glutathione (GSH) were evaluated. Treatment using CD extract resulted in a weak reduction in worm burden (32.46%) and affected the viability of both mature and immature eggs as indicated by the increase in the percentage of dead eggs and the decrease in the percentage of live ones. In addition, a week posttreatment, eggs elimination was observed in the stool of the infected-treated group which was low compared to the infected group. There was a suppressive effect of the extract on granuloma formation that could be due to the antioxidant effect of the extract. These data are confirmed by increasing hepatic GSH, serum total proteins and thyroid hormone levels in the infected-treated group as compared to the infected group. Treatment significantly enhanced β globulin fractions of the protein. Based on these assumptions, CD extract has beneficial effects on thyroid hormones status and anti-schistosomiasis activity. The beneficial effects of CD extract could be related to its direct effects on the parasite, and secondary to its effect on the antioxidant capacity of the host. The present study could emphasize the precise mechanism (s) of CD extract protection.

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