Anti-giardial therapeutic potential of dichloromethane extracts of Zingiber officinale and Curcuma longa in vitro and in vivo

The present update gives a comprehensive review of worldwide waterborne parasitic protozoan outbreaks that occurred and were published globally between January 2004 and December 2010. At least one hundred and ninety-nine outbreaks of human diseases due to the waterborne transmission of parasitic protozoa occurred and were reported during the time period from 2004 to 2010. 46.7% of the documented outbreaks occurred on the Australian continent, 30.6% in North America and 16.5% in Europe. Cryptosporidium spp. was the etiological agent in 60.3% (120) of the outbreaks, Giardia lamblia in 35.2% (70) and other protozoa in 4.5% (9). Four outbreaks (2%) were caused by Toxoplasma gondii, three (1.5%) by Cyclospora cayetanensis. In two outbreaks (1%) Acanthamoeba spp. was identified as the causative agent. In one outbreak, G. lamblia (in 17.6% of stool samples) and Cryptosporidium parvum (in 2.7% of stool samples) as well as Entamoeba histolytica (in 9.4% of stool samples) and Blastocystis hominis (in 8.1% of stool samples) were detected. In those countries that are likely affected most a lack of surveillance systems is noticeable. However, countries that established surveillance systems did not establish an international standardization of reporting systems. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

We recently demonstrated that Giardia lamblia rearranges cytoskeletal proteins and reduces transepithelial electrical resistance. The effect of G. lamblia on enterocyte apoptosis is unknown, and a possible link between microbially induced enterocyte apoptosis and altered epithelial permeability has yet to be established. The aim of this study was to assess whether G. lamblia induces enterocyte apoptosis in duodenal epithelial monolayers and whether this effect increases epithelial permeability. Monolayers of nontransformed human duodenal epithelial cells were incubated with sonicated or live G. lamblia trophozoites (NF, S2, WB, or PB strains) for 8, 24, and 48 h. Cell cultures were assessed for apoptosis by Hoechst fluorescence staining, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for apoptotic nucleosomes, and electron microscopy. In separate experiments, monolayers were pretreated with or without 120 microM caspase-3 inhibitor (Z-DEVD-FMK) for 1 h and were assessed for production of apoptotic nucleosomes, tight junctional integrity (with fluorescent ZO-1 staining followed by confocal laser microscopy), and transepithelial permeability for fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran. G. lamblia strains NF and S2, but not strains WB or PB, induced enterocyte apoptosis within the monolayers, and this effect was inhibited by Z-DEVD-FMK pretreatment. Using the G. lamblia NF isolate, additional experiments investigated the possible link between enterocyte apoptosis and altered epithelial permeability. G. lamblia NF disrupted tight junctional ZO-1 and increased epithelial permeability, but these effects were also prevented by pretreatment with the caspase-3 inhibitor. These findings indicate that strain-dependent induction of enterocyte apoptosis may contribute to the pathogenesis of giardiasis. This effect is responsible for a loss of epithelial barrier function by disrupting tight junctional ZO-1 and increasing permeability in a caspase-3-dependent manner.

Twenty-five essential oils were tested for antioxidant activities using a conjugated diene assay, the aldehyde/carboxylic acid assay, the DPPH free radical scavenging assay, and the malonaldehyde/gas chromatography (MA/GC) assay. They were also tested for lipoxygenase inhibitory activities using the lipoxygenase inhibitor-screening assay. Thyme oil exhibited the greatest antioxidant effect in all assays (80-100%) except in the DPPH assay (60%). Clove leaf oil showed activities comparable to those of thyme oil (53-100%). Cinnamon leaf oil showed strong activities in the aldehyde/carboxylic acid assay (100%) and DPPH assay (84%), but only moderate activities in the conjugated diene assay (24%) and MA/GC assay (48%). Basil oil exhibited a strong effect in the DPPH assay (86%) and moderate activities in the MA/GC assay (35%). Bergamot oil exhibited 100% antioxidant activity in the aldehyde/carboxylic acid assay. Eucalyptus and chamomile oils showed appreciable activities only in the conjugated diene assay. Bitter orange oil exhibited moderate antioxidant activity (53%) only in the MA/GC assay. Aloe vera oil exhibited the greatest lipoxygenase inhibitory activity (96%), followed by thyme oil (86%) and bergamot oil (85%) at a concentration of 0.5 microg/mL. Chamomile oil showed slight lipoxygenase inhibitory activity at 0.5 microg/mL but strong lipoxygenase inducing activity at 5 microg/mL (-123%). Thyme and clove leaf oils contained high levels of thymol (23%) and eugenol (77%), respectively, as a principal of the antioxidant activity. The results obtained in the present study suggest that some essential oils possess strong medicinal activities, which can be utilized for treatment of certain diseases.