Allopurinol and Albendazole efficacy against trichinosis in experimentally-infected mice

El Dib, Nadia; Adel, Hager; Fahmy, Azza; Amin, Noha

doi:10.21608/puj.2024.324103.1270

Allopurinol and Albendazole efficacy against trichinosis in experimentally-infected mice

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Departments of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt

² Departments of Parasitology, Theodore Bilharz Research Institute , Giza, Egypt

³ Departments of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University , Giza, Egypt

10.21608/puj.2024.324103.1270

Abstract

Background: In trichinosis, current treatments (Albendazole), have limited efficiency in eliminating
encapsulated larvae because of poor absorption and potential side effects at higher doses.
Objective: The therapeutic efficacy of allopurinol, given alone or in combination with albendazole, was
investigated in a murine model of trichinosis.
Material and Methods: Eighty male albino mice were assigned to two experimental phases: an intestinal
phase-experiment I and a muscle phase-experiment II. In each experiment, mice were divided into four
treatment groups: infected untreated administered normal saline; treated with albendazole (50 mg/kg);
allopurinol (30 mg/kg); and combined treatment. In both experiments, efficacy was evaluated on the 6th,
and 45th day of infection, respectively. Parameters used were parasite burden in the intestine and in 3
muscle tissues (tongue, diaphragm, and thoracic muscle), and histopathological examinations.
Results: Albendazole alone reduced intestinal worm burden by 98.53% with limited effect on muscle
larvae (56.86-59.44% reduction). Allopurinol showed moderate effect on intestinal worms (69.41%
reduction) but with higher efficacy against muscle larvae (83.93-87.36% reduction). The combined
therapy was the most effective, reducing intestinal worms by 98.76%, and muscle larvae by 93.69-
94.71%. Histopathological examination showed that the combined treatment minimized inflammation
and myodestruction with extensive larval degeneration.
Conclusion: Allopurinol showed higher efficiency against muscular trichinosis, while albendazole was
more effective against intestinal trichinosis. The combination therapy yielded promising results against
both phases, suggesting potential as an improved treatment for trichinosis. Further clinical investigations
are recommended to confirm these findings.

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