title: Effect of propolis versus metronidazole and their combined use in treatment of acute experimental giardiasis.
abstract: Propolis, a honey bee product, gained popularity in alternative medicine. Its prophylactic and therapeutic effects were experimentally evaluated. One hundred and fifty immunocompetent mice were orally infected by 5 x 10(5) axenically cultivated Giardia lamblia trophozoites. The trophozoite count in intestine, interferon-gamma serum level, histopathological examination of duodenal and jejunal sections were assessed for evaluation of propolis and metronidazole (MTZ) effect after 6 & 12 days post infection (p.i). Also, T-lymphocyte profile in blood was investigated 12 days p.i using flow cytometry (FCM). Propolis as prophylaxis showed a significant decrease in intensity of infection, together with a significant increase in IF-gamma serum level and increase in CD4+: CD8+T-cell ratio. In treatment it gave a highly significant decrease in trophozoite count than that obtained by MTZ 6 days after infection but the efficacy was almost equal after 12 days. The mice treated with propolis alone showed a reversed CD4+: CD8+ T-lymphocyte ratio, such strong immune enhancing effect resulted in an undesirable increase in inflammatory response at intestinal level. The combined therapy showed a stronger efficacy in reducing the parasite count than that gained by each drug alone. Their combined use caused an immunological balance as shown by the T-lymphocyte profile that saved the intestinal homeostasis and histological architecture.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Ain-Shams University, Cairo 11566, Egypt.
authors.forename: Nashwa S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Abdel-Fattah
authors.forename: Ola H
authors.initials: OH
authors.lastname: Nada
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D016829:Giardia lamblia / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology*; D005873:Giardiasis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008795:Metronidazole / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051379:Mice; D011429:Propolis / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011897:Random Allocation; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents; D008795:Metronidazole; D011429:Propolis