Antischistosomal activity of ginger (Zingiber officinale) against Schistosoma mansoni harbored in C57 mice

Abstract

The repeated chemotherapy of schistosomiasis has resulted in the emergence of drug-resistant schistosome strains. The development of such resistance has drawn the attention of many authors to alternative drugs. Many medicinal plants were studied to investigate their antischistosomal potency. The present work aimed to evaluate antischistosomal activity of crude aqueous extract of ginger against Schistosoma mansoni. Sixteen mice of C57 strain were exposed to 100 ± 10 cercariae per mouse by the tail immersion method; the mice were divided into two groups: untreated group and ginger-treated one. All mice were sacrificed at the end of 10th week post-infection. Worm recovery and egg counting in the hepatic tissues and faeces were determined. Surface topography of the recovered worms was studied by scanning electron microscopy. Histopathological examination of liver and intestine was done using routine histological procedures. The worm burden and the egg density in liver and faeces of mice treated with ginger were fewer than in non-treated ones. Scanning electron microscopical examination revealed that male worms recovered from mice treated with ginger lost their normal surface architecture, since its surface showed partial loss of tubercles' spines, extensive erosion in inter-tubercle tegumental regions and numerous small blebs around tubercles. Histopathological data indicated a reduction in the number and size of granulomatous inflammatory infiltrations in the liver and intestine of treated mice compared to non-treated mice. The results of the present work suggested that ginger has antischistosomal activities and provided a basis for subsequent experimental and clinical trials.

Schistosoma mansoni: Antiparasitic effects of orally administeredNigella sativaoil and/orChroococcus turgidusextract

“…In the present work, the total worm burden was reduced from 45 to 57%, which is more or less similar to that found by Mostafa et al [47]. However, the reduction of the total worm burden is 31-39% after treatment with arachidonic acid [18] which is lower than that of the present study.…”

“…However, the reduction of the total worm burden is 31-39% after treatment with arachidonic acid [18] which is lower than that of the present study. While the percentage of egg reduction was 56-74% in the liver which is much more if compared to egg reduction in that treated with ginger [47]. A higher number of males were recovered from mice if compared to female worms obtained from the same mice (Table 1).…”

“…Therefore, the tegmental alteration in S. mansoni worms after treatment with black seed oil and/or algal extract could have exerted an intense effect on the meta-bolic activities of the parasite and in turn expose the tegument to the host's immune attack. Changes in the surface topography of Schistosoma worms were used by a number of investigators for the assessment of anti-Schistosoma drug actions, as the tegument is an important target for anti-Schistosoma drugs [18,25,46,47]. Moreover, the change caused by anti-Schistosoma drugs was more distinct in the male tegument than in that of the female, where most of the female's body is enclosed in the gynaecophoric duct of the male and it is not in direct contact with the host's microenvironment [53,55].…”

In vitro antischistosomal activity of venom from the Egyptian snake Cerastes cerastes

“…The results of the present study showed that the susceptibility of male and female worms to venom varied, with male worms being more susceptible than females were. In this regard, male S. mansoni worms were also more susceptible than females were to praziquantel, ginger extract, diamines, and amino alcohols and to treatment with certain essential oils (35) (36) (37) (38) (39) . However, there was no differential sensitivity to piplartine between male and female worms in vitro (34) .…”

Potential effect of the medicinal plantsCalotropis procera. Ficus elasticaandZingiber officinaleagainstSchistosoma mansoniin mice

“…Concerning Z. officinale, results are in agreement with those of Sanderson et al (2002) who reported that neither oral nor subcutaneous administration of 150 mg/ kg of ethyl acetate extract of ginger produced any significant reduction in S. mansoni worm numbers compared with untreated controls. Conversely, Mostafa et al (2011) reported that worm burden and the egg density in liver and faeces of mice treated with ginger were fewer than in non-treated ones. Table 4.…”