Indigofera oblongifolia protects against trypanosomiasis-induced spleen injury

Serial magnetic resonance imaging of splenomegaly in the Trypanosoma brucei infected mouse

Splenomegaly, an enlargement of the spleen, is a known clinical sign of the parasitic disease, human African trypanosomiasis. This study follows the development of splenomegaly in a group of mice over multiple infection points, using a non-invasive imaging modality, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). CD-1 mice infected with GVR35 T.b. brucei demonstrated a significant increase in spleen size from day 7 post-infection, with changes in the spleen tracked in individual animals over five time points. At the final time point, the mean spleen weight calculated using the spleen volume from the MR images was compared with the post-mortem gross spleen weight. No significant difference was detected between the two methods (1.62 ± 0.06g using MRI and 1.51 ± 0.04g gross weight, p = 0.554). Haematology and histological analysis were also performed, giving additional insight into splenomegaly for the GVR35 strain of infection. The study demonstrates that MRI is a useful tool when examining changes in organ volume throughout HAT infection and may be applicable in the investigation of a range of conditions where changes in organ volume occur and MRI has not been used previously.

Treatment of Trypanosoma evansi-Infected Mice With Eucalyptus camaldulensis Led to a Change in Brain Response and Spleen Immunomodulation

Surra is a parasitic disease caused by the eukaryotic, unicellular hemoprotozoan, Trypanosoma evansi, which affects the development of animal production and is widespread among both domestic and wild animals. As such, in this research, we studied the antiparasitic activity and the ameliorative impact of Eucalyptus camaldulensis leaf extracts (ELE) against T. evansi-induced brain injury and spleen immune response in mice. As a result, we found that ELE decreased the amount of trypanosomes in the blood and improved the weight loss caused by infection. In addition, ELE reduced the parasite-induced brain and spleen histopathological damage. The parasite affected the levels of dopamine and serotonin, but after treatment with ELE, their concentrations significantly decreased to 154 ± 7 and 258 ± 11 μg/g, respectively. We clearly observed the antioxidant activity of ELE because of its ability to increase the induced change in the brain's total antioxidant capacity and the nitric oxide level. The histopathological changes in the spleen also improved after ELE application. Based on our results, we concluded that ELE possesses antitrypanosomal antioxidant and protective effects in the brains of mice infected with T. evansi. Additional phytochemical screening and molecular studies are required to understand the mechanism underlying the effect of ELE.

Murine liver response to Allium sativum treatment during infection induced-trypanosomiasis

Hepatic injury induced by trypanosomiasis is one of the major health problems not only to human but also to wild and domestic animals. This study aimed to evaluate the hepatoprotective role of Allium sativum extract (ASE) against Trypanosoma evansi infection in mice. Animals were divided into 4 groups. Group I received only saline while group II received ASE (20 mg/Kg). Animals of group III and group IV were infected with T. evansi. The latter group was treated with ASE. The infrared spectroscopic analysis of A. sativum extract exhibited bands between 3700 cm^-1 and 599 cm^-1. On day 4 post T. evansi infection, ASE decreased the parasitemia by about 15 fold. Also, ASE regulated the number of erythrocytes and leucocytes and the hemoglobin content. In addition, the histopathological damage was reduced after treatment with ASE. Moreover, the oxidant and the antioxidant markers (glutathione, malondialdehyde and catalase) were regulated in the infected-treated animals. Collectively, the results proved the protective role of ASE against T. evansi infection in mice.

Indigofera oblongifolia as a fight against hepatic injury caused by murine trypanosomiasis

Trypanosoma evansi is a hazardous pathogenic parasite infecting a broad variety of livestock and affects wildlife worldwide. Trypanosoma evansi has gained resistance to most drugs used; therefore, it requires alternative medicines. The objective of this research was to investigate the impact of Indigofera oblongifolia leaf extract (IE) on T. evansi-induced hepatic injury.

Mice were once infected with 1000 T. evansi. The treated group was gavaged with 100 mg/Kg IE after infection. Histological and biochemical changes in mice hepatic tissue were studied. Also, the oxidative damage in the liver was evaluated through determining the level of glutathione (GSH), Malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO) and catalase (CAT) markers. IE was able to suppress the induced parasitemia due to infection. Also, IE improved the histological liver architecture. Furthermore, the liver enzymes, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity were improved after IE mice were treated. IE protects against hepatic damage caused by trypanosomiasis in mice. Further studies are needed to isolate the active compounds in IE and to monitor these compunds’ ameliorative function.