Piper betle has been used as a medicinal plant in traditional medical systems throughout South and South East Asia. Experimental studies have revealed its wide and diverse biological and pharmacological effects. In this study, antigiardial activity of Piper betle was tested using experimental infections of Giardia intestinalis, the most common cause of protozoal diarrhoea worldwide, in Mongolian gerbils. Plants were extracted in water, methanol and methanol:tetrahydrofuran. Gerbils were treated for ten days intragastrically twice a day, with the dose of 40 mg of the extract per 100 g of body weight. Drug metronidazole was used as a negative control. Gerbils' faeces were taken every day and examined by flotation method, the number of shed cysts were counted using a haemocytometer. After gerbils' sacrifice and dissection, their duodena were then processed for examination using histological sectioning and scanning electron microscopy. The antigiardial activity was evaluated by the course of cyst shedding throughout the entire experiment. A significant decline in cyst shedding, evaluated by linear regression was found in gerbils treated with the aqueous extract. Our results indicate that the aqueous extract of P. betle shows giardicidal effects.
- MeSH
- antiprotozoální látky farmakologie terapeutické užití MeSH
- feces parazitologie MeSH
- Gerbillinae MeSH
- Giardia lamblia účinky léků ultrastruktura MeSH
- giardiáza farmakoterapie MeSH
- lineární modely MeSH
- listy rostlin chemie MeSH
- lyofilizace MeSH
- metronidazol farmakologie terapeutické užití MeSH
- mikroskopie elektronová rastrovací MeSH
- Piper betle chemie MeSH
- průjem farmakoterapie parazitologie MeSH
- rostlinné extrakty farmakologie terapeutické užití MeSH
- tenké střevo parazitologie ultrastruktura MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Indonésie MeSH
The emergence of cryptosporidiosis, a zoonotic disease of the gastrointestinal and respiratory tract caused by Cryptosporidium Tyzzer, 1907, triggered numerous screening studies of various compounds for potential anti-cryptosporidial activity, the majority of which proved ineffective. Extracts of Indonesian plants, Piper betle and Diospyros sumatrana, were tested for potential anti-cryptosporidial activity using Mastomys coucha (Smith), experimentally inoculated with Cryptosporidium proliferans Kváč, Havrdová, Hlásková, Daňková, Kanděra, Ježková, Vítovec, Sak, Ortega, Xiao, Modrý, Chelladurai, Prantlová et McEvoy, 2016. None of the plant extracts tested showed significant activity against cryptosporidia; however, the results indicate that the following issues should be addressed in similar experimental studies. The monitoring of oocyst shedding during the entire experimental trial, supplemented with histological examination of affected gastric tissue at the time of treatment termination, revealed that similar studies are generally unreliable if evaluations of drug efficacy are based exclusively on oocyst shedding. Moreover, the reduction of oocyst shedding did not guarantee the eradication of cryptosporidia in treated individuals. For treatment trials performed on experimentally inoculated laboratory rodents, only animals in the advanced phase of cryptosporidiosis should be used for the correct interpretation of pathological alterations observed in affected tissue. All the solvents used (methanol, methanol-tetrahydrofuran and dimethylsulfoxid) were shown to be suitable for these studies, i.e. they did not exhibit negative effects on the subjects. The halofuginone lactate, routinely administered in intestinal cryptosporidiosis in calves, was shown to be ineffective against gastric cryptosporidiosis in mice caused by C. proliferans. In contrast, the control application of extract Arabidopsis thaliana, from which we had expected a neutral effect, turned out to have some positive impact on affected gastric tissue.
- MeSH
- Cryptosporidium účinky léků MeSH
- Diospyros chemie MeSH
- kokcidiostatika farmakologie MeSH
- kryptosporidióza prevence a kontrola MeSH
- Murinae * MeSH
- Piper betle chemie MeSH
- preklinické hodnocení léčiv veterinární MeSH
- rostlinné extrakty farmakologie MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
Animals self-medicate using a variety of plant and arthropod secondary metabolites by either ingesting them or anointing them to their fur or skin apparently to repel ectoparasites and treat skin diseases. In this respect, much attention has been focused on primates. Direct evidence for self-medication among the great apes has been limited to Africa. Here we document self-medication in the only Asian great ape, orang-utans (Pongo pygmaeus), and for the first time, to our knowledge, the external application of an anti-inflammatory agent in animals. The use of leaf extracts from Dracaena cantleyi by orang-utan has been observed on several occasions; rubbing a foamy mixture of saliva and leaf onto specific parts of the body. Interestingly, the local indigenous human population also use a poultice of these leaves for the relief of body pains. We present pharmacological analyses of the leaf extracts from this species, showing that they inhibit TNFα-induced inflammatory cytokine production (E-selectin, ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and IL-6). This validates the topical anti-inflammatory properties of this plant and provides a possible function for its use by orang-utans. This is the first evidence for the deliberate external application of substances with demonstrated bioactive potential for self-medication in great apes.
- MeSH
- biologické markery MeSH
- biologické přípravky * chemie farmakologie MeSH
- buněčné linie MeSH
- chování zvířat * MeSH
- cytokiny metabolismus MeSH
- Dracaena chemie metabolismus MeSH
- endoteliální buňky účinky léků metabolismus MeSH
- léčivé rostliny * MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mediátory zánětu metabolismus MeSH
- Pongo pygmaeus * MeSH
- rostlinné extrakty chemie farmakologie MeSH
- samoléčba * MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
The present study was conducted to evaluate the methanolic extracts from several plant leaves widely used in traditional medicine to cure digestive tract disorders and in the self-medication of wild animals such as non-human primates, namely Archidendron fagifolium, Diospyros sumatrana, Shorea sumatrana, and Piper betle leaves, with regard to their antimicrosporidial activity against Encephalitozoon cuniculi in immunocompetent BALB/c mice determined using molecular detection of microsporidial DNA (qPCR) in various tissues and body fluids of infected, treated mice. Of the plant extracts tested, Diospyros sumatrana provided the most promising results, reducing spore shedding by 88% compared to untreated controls. Moreover, total burden per 1 g of tissue in the D. sumatrana extract-treated group reached 87% reduction compared to untreated controls, which was comparable to the effect of the standard drug, Albendazole. This data represents the baseline necessary for further research focused on determining the structure, activity and modes of action of the active compounds, mainly of D. sumatrana, enabling subsequent development of antimicrosporidial remedies.
- MeSH
- albendazol farmakologie terapeutické užití MeSH
- antifungální látky farmakologie terapeutické užití MeSH
- Cercopithecus aethiops MeSH
- dimethylsulfoxid farmakologie terapeutické užití MeSH
- Diospyros chemie MeSH
- Dipterocarpaceae chemie MeSH
- DNA fungální izolace a purifikace MeSH
- Encephalitozoon cuniculi účinky léků MeSH
- encephalitozoonóza farmakoterapie MeSH
- Fabaceae chemie MeSH
- feces parazitologie MeSH
- gastrointestinální trakt mikrobiologie MeSH
- imunokompetence MeSH
- listy rostlin chemie MeSH
- myši inbrední BALB C MeSH
- myši MeSH
- Piper betle chemie MeSH
- rostlinné extrakty farmakologie terapeutické užití MeSH
- spory hub účinky léků MeSH
- Vero buňky MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- myši MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Indonésie MeSH
BACKGROUND: Orangutans are critically endangered primarily due to loss and fragmentation of their natural habitat. This could bring them into closer contact with humans and increase the risk of zoonotic pathogen transmission. AIMS: To describe the prevalence and diversity of Cryptosporidium spp., microsporidia and Giardia intestinalis in orangutans at seven sites on Sumatra and Kalimantan, and to evaluate the impact of orangutans' habituation and location on the occurrence of these zoonotic protists. RESULT: The overall prevalence of parasites in 298 examined animals was 11.1%. The most prevalent microsporidia was Encephalitozoon cuniculi genotype II, found in 21 animals (7.0%). Enterocytozoon bieneusi genotype D (n = 5) and novel genotype Pongo 2 were detected only in six individuals (2.0%). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of these parasites in orangutans. Eight animals were positive for Cryptosporidium spp. (2.7%), including C. parvum (n = 2) and C. muris (n = 6). Giardia intestinalis assemblage B, subtype MB6, was identified in a single individual. While no significant differences between the different human contact level groups (p = 0.479-0.670) or between the different islands (p = 0.992) were reported in case of E. bieneusi or E. cuniculi, Cryptosporidium spp. was significantly less frequently detected in wild individuals (p < 2×10-16) and was significantly more prevalent in orangutans on Kalimantan than on Sumatra (p < 2×10-16). CONCLUSION: Our results revealed that wild orangutans are significantly less frequently infected by Cryptosporidium spp. than captive and semi-wild animals. In addition, this parasite was more frequently detected at localities on Kalimantan. In contrast, we did not detect any significant difference in the prevalence of microsporidia between the studied groups of animals. The sources and transmission modes of infections were not determined, as this would require repeated sampling of individuals, examination of water sources, and sampling of humans and animals sharing the habitat with orangutans.
- MeSH
- Cryptosporidium * MeSH
- Encephalitozoon * MeSH
- Enterocytozoon * MeSH
- Giardia lamblia * MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- nemoci lidoopů * epidemiologie parazitologie přenos MeSH
- parazitární nemoci střev * epidemiologie parazitologie přenos MeSH
- Pongo abelii parazitologie MeSH
- Pongo pygmaeus parazitologie MeSH
- prevalence MeSH
- protozoální infekce zvířat * epidemiologie parazitologie přenos MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Borneo MeSH
- Indonésie MeSH
Anoplocephalid tapeworms of the genus Bertiella Stiles and Hassall, 1902 and Anoplocephala Blanchard, 1848, found in the Asian, African and American non-human primates are presumed to sporadic ape-to-man transmissions. Variable nuclear (5.8S-ITS2; 28S rRNA) and mitochondrial genes (cox1; nad1) of isolates of anoplocephalids originating from different primates (Callicebus oenanthe, Gorilla beringei, Gorilla gorilla, Pan troglodytes and Pongo abelii) and humans from various regions (South America, Africa, South-East Asia) were sequenced. In most analyses, Bertiella formed a monophyletic group within the subfamily Anoplocephalinae, however, the 28S rRNA sequence-based analysis indicated paraphyletic relationship between Bertiella from primates and Australian marsupials and rodents, which should thus be regarded as different taxa. Moreover, isolate determined as Anoplocephala cf. gorillae from mountain gorilla clustered within the Bertiella clade from primates. This either indicates that A. gorillae deserves to be included into the genus Bertiella, or, that an unknown Bertiella species infects also mountain gorillas. The analyses allowed the genetic differentiation of the isolates, albeit with no obvious geographical or host-related patterns. The unexpected genetic diversity of the isolates studied suggests the existence of several Bertiella species in primates and human and calls for revision of the whole group, based both on molecular and morphological data.
- MeSH
- Cestoda klasifikace genetika MeSH
- druhová specificita MeSH
- fylogeneze * MeSH
- genetická variace MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mezerníky ribozomální DNA genetika MeSH
- mitochondriální geny genetika MeSH
- primáti parazitologie MeSH
- RNA ribozomální 28S genetika MeSH
- RNA ribozomální 5.8S genetika MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Afrika MeSH
- jihovýchodní Asie MeSH
- Jižní Amerika MeSH
