N-acetyl cysteine and mushroom Agaricus sylvaticus supplementation decreased parasitaemia and pulmonary oxidative stress in a mice model of malaria

Abstract

BackgroundMalaria infection can cause high oxidative stress, which could lead to the development of severe forms of malaria, such as pulmonary malaria. In recent years, the role of reactive oxygen species in the pathogenesis of the disease has been discussed, as well as the potential benefit of antioxidants supplementation. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) or mushroom Agaricus sylvaticus supplementation on the pulmonary oxidative changes in an experimental model of malaria caused by Plasmodium berghei strain ANKA.MethodsSwiss male mice were infected with P. berghei and treated with NAC or AS. Samples of lung tissue and whole blood were collected after one, three, five, seven or ten days of infection for the assessment of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), nitrites and nitrates (NN) and to assess the degree of parasitaemia.ResultsAlthough parasitaemia increased progressively with the evolution of the disease in all infected groups, there was a significant decrease from the seventh to the tenth day of infection in both antioxidant-supplemented groups. Results showed significant higher levels of TEAC in both supplemented groups, the highest occurring in the group supplemented with A. sylvaticus. In parallel, TBARS showed similar levels among all groups, while levels of NN were higher in animals supplemented with NAC in relation to the positive control groups and A. sylvaticus, whose levels were similar to the negative control group.ConclusionOxidative stress arising from plasmodial infection was attenuated by supplementation of both antioxidants, but A. sylvaticus proved to be more effective and has the potential to become an important tool in the adjuvant therapy of malaria.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12936-015-0717-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

L-cysteine whether a nutritional booster or a radical scavenger for Plasmodium

“…In a recent study, supplementation of N-acetylcysteine which is a reduced form of cysteine reduces the parasitemia level and increases the antioxidant potential of P. berghei infected mice. [ 27 ] Inside the living cell, N-acetylcysteine is deacetylated to yield L-cysteine which promotes intracellular glutathione production which in turn induce antigen-presenting cells to produce interleukin-12 (IL-12) and IL-12 is supposed to suppress the parasitemia level in in vivo models. [ 28 ] So, N-acetylcysteine is related to lowering the parasitemia level by augmenting the IL-12 production.…”

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