الفهرس 
In vitro effect of curcumin on schistosoma species : Viability, tegument ultrastructure and egg
ABSTRACTOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 136 |  |  |
| | | from | 136 | | |
Abstract
Schistosomiasis is one of the most prevalent neglected disease affecting humans and animals. Several reports show that the current chemotherapy can select parasite strains resistant to the drug. Thus, developing new drugs against schistosomiasis is a highly desirable goal. Curcumin (CUR), the major phenolic compound present in rhizome of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.), has been traditionally used against various diseases including parasitic infectionsand revealed interesting in vivo and/or in vitro antischistosomal properties against Schistosoma mansoni and S. japonicum adult worms. Here, we report for the first time, the in vitro antischistosomal activity of CUR against S. haematobium in parallel against S. mansoni. The in vitro schistosomicidal activity of CUR (50 to 500 oM) was evaluated against adult worms and appeared significant (P< 0.05 to <0.0001) in a time- and dose-dependent manner. CUR (500 oM) caused irreversible killing of both schistosome species after two h. CUR (250 oM) caused the death of S. haematobium and S. mansoni worms after 2h and 4 h, respectively. As CUR concentration decreases (50 oM), the worm viability increases up to 4 h and separation of schistosome coupled pairs was observed within 3 to 4 h. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy revealed that S. haematobium are more sensitive than S. mansoni to CUR schistosomicidal effects. In support, CUR was found to affect the antigenicity of surface membrane molecules of S. haematobium, but not S. mansoni. Of importance, CUR significantly (P< 0.05 to <0.0001) affected S. mansoni eggs hatchability and viability, a ground for its use in chemotherapy of schistosomiasis mansoni and japonicum because of its increased bioavailability in the gastrointestinal tract. The data together emphasize that CUR is a promising potential schistosomicidal drug