Wheat Germ Oil and Propolis Decrease Parasite Burden and Restore Marked Histopathological Changes in Liver and Lung in Mice with Chronic Toxoplasmosis

Abstract

Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic zoonotic disease with a worldwide distribution. Its effects can be critical in immunocompromised patients. However, there is a limited availability of effective, low-toxicity drugs against this disease, particularly in its chronic form. The present study evaluated the effect of propolis and wheat germ oil (WGO) as safe, natural products to reduce Toxoplasma cysts in experimentally infected mice. For the experiment, five groups (10 mice per group) were examined: Group 1: negative control (noninfected, nontreated); Group 2: positive control (infected, nontreated); Group 3: infected and treated with WGO at a dose of 0.2 mg/1.5 mL per kg body weight/day; Group 4: infected and treated with 0.1 mL propolis extract/day; and Group 5: infected and treated with a combination of WGO and propolis at the same doses as Group 3 and 4. After the mice were sacrificed, liver and lung specimens underwent histopathological examination, and the parasite burden was investigated by parasitological methods and quantified using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Notably, the results showed a substantial decrease in parasitic burden in Group 5 compared to the control group. These results were further confirmed by molecular analysis and quantification of the DNA concentration of the Toxoplasma P29 gene after treatment in all tested samples. Furthermore, the combination of propolis and WGO restored all histopathological changes in the liver and lungs. Taken together, these findings provide remarkably promising evidence of the effects of the combination of WGO and propolis against chronic toxoplasmosis in mice.

Parasitological, Molecular, and Histopathological Investigation of the Potential Activity of Propolis and Wheat Germ Oil against Acute Toxoplasmosis in Mice

“…In the present work, the results of RT-PCR confirmed the parasitological results since there was a significant reduction in the parasite load in the animals treated with propolis (G3) compared to the positive control group (G2), which had the highest parasite load. The present results are in harmony with previous works that revealed the antiparasitic activity of propolis and WGO in treating chronic toxoplasmosis in mice [ 17 , 18 ].…”

“…This result could be attributed to the potency of T. gondii tachyzoites for invading and rupturing any nucleated cell; in addition, they strongly stimulate cytokine release, which has a lytic effect on the infected cells [ 68 , 69 ]. The histopathological changes in the liver tissue specimens obtained from the positive control group revealed dilations in the central vein and hepatocellular necrosis, in addition to the presence of bradyzoites between the hepatic tissue and inside the paracentral tissue surrounded by mononuclear cellular infiltration, which is in agreement with some previous works against chronic toxoplasmosis [ 17 , 18 ]. Furthermore, the present study reported the proliferative reaction of Kupffer cells and marked periportal edema around the portal vein.…”

“…Several recent studies have combined chemical drugs with natural compounds, such as propolis, in order to enhance their synergistic effects [ 65 ]. In a previous research, we reported the potential benefits of WGO and propolis combination in the treatment of chronic toxoplasmosis in mice [ 17 , 18 ]. However, no previous work was conducted on their use against acute toxoplasmosis.…”

“…Real-time PCR (RT-PCR) is considered one of the most sensitive and specific molecular methods for the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis and the quantification of the parasite load. Several previous studies used RT-PCR to evaluate the herbal extract efficacy through quantification of parasite loads by targeting the p29 (GRA7) gene [ 15 ] in different treated groups [ 16 , 17 , 18 ]. Meanwhile, treatment of toxoplasmosis usually depends on using some chemical drugs, such as the pyrimethamine–sulfadiazine combination [ 19 ].…”

“…A previous study reported that WGO has a significant therapeutic effect against Cryptosporidium [ 41 ], and another study recorded that it negatively affects the motility and growth of Trichomonas vaginalis trophozoites [ 42 ]. Our group revealed the potential activity of WGO and propolis against chronic toxoplasmosis in mice by reducing the parasite burden and restoring the observed histopathological changes in various organs [ 17 , 18 ]. However, no reliable information is available about the potential use of WGO and propolis and their combination against the acute form of the disease.…”