Parasitological and Biochemical Efficacy of the Active Ingredients of Allium sativum and Curcuma longa in Schistosoma mansoni Infected Mice

The active ingredients allicin and curcumin have a wide range of actions against fungi, bacteria, and helminths. Therefore, the study was aimed to evaluate the efficacy of allicin (AL) and curcumin (CU) as antischistosomal drugs and their biochemical effects in normal and Schistosoma mansoni-infected mice. Praziquantel (PZQ) was administrated for two successive days while AL or CU was given for two weeks from the week 7th postinfection (PI). The possible effect of different regimens on Schistosoma worms was evaluated by measuring the percentage of the recovered worms, tissue egg load, and oogram pattern. Serum alanine transaminase activity and levels of triglycerides, cholesterol, and uric acid were measured. Liver tissue malondialdehyde and reduced glutathione levels besides, the activities of glutathione-S-transferase, superoxide dismutase and catalase were assessed for the oxidative/antioxidant condition. DNA electrophoresis of liver tissue was used to indicate the degree of fragmentation. There was a significant reduction in the recovered worms and egg load, with a marked change of oogram pattern in all treated groups with PZQ, AL, and CU in comparison with infected-untreated mice. PZQ, AL, and CU prevented most of the hematological and biochemical disorders, as well as significantly improved the antioxidant capacity and enhanced DNA fragmentation in the liver tissue of schistosomiasis mice compared to the infected-untreated group. These promising results suggest that AL and CU are efficient as antischistosomal drugs, and it would be beneficial to test their combination to understand the mechanism of action and the proper period of treatment leading to the best result.