Potential therapeutic effect of platelet-rich plasma and albendazole on the muscular phase of experimental Trichinella spiralis infection

Trichinellosis is a food-borne parasitic infection causing muscle damage. This study aimed to detect the potential therapeutic effect of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) alone or in combination with albendazole (ALB) on the muscular phase of experimental Trichinella infection in rats. The study was conducted on 70 rats divided into four main groups: healthy non-infected non-treated rats, non-infected rats treated with PRP, infected untreated rats (seven rats in each group), and an infected group of 49 rats. The infected group was further subdivided based on the drug therapy received. The effects of drug therapy were evaluated using parasitological and histopathological analyses. The percent reduction in the number of Trichinella spiralis larvae per gram of muscle in the PRP-treated groups (one, two, and three doses) was 43.1%, 78.8%, and 86.1%, respectively. Groups treated with combined therapy of ALB & PRP (one, two, and three doses) showed overall reduction percentages of 87.7%, 90.9% and 95.2%, respectively. In contrast, the ALB-treated group showed a 69.4% reduction. All results of the abovementioned groups were statistically significant compared to the control-infected non-treated group. The findings of the histopathological analysis were consistent with the parasitological results. Groups receiving combined therapy showed the most significant improvement in terms of the degree of inflammation and fibrosis. It can be concluded that PRP has a modulatory effect on the pathology caused by T. spiralis larvae in the muscular phase of trichinellosis. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the effect of PRP on the muscular phase of T. spiralis infection.