Novel insights on the potential activity of propolis and wheat germ oil against chronic toxoplasmosis in experimentally infected mice

Ehab Kotb Elmahallawy; Hassan Ali Mohamed El Fadaly; Ashraf H Soror; Fatma Abo Zakaib Ali; Khaled A Abd El-Razik; Yousef A Soliman; Abdulsalam A M Alkhaldi; Nisreen Khalid Aref Albezrah; Ashraf Mohamed Barakat

doi:10.1016/j.biopha.2022.113811

Novel insights on the potential activity of propolis and wheat germ oil against chronic toxoplasmosis in experimentally infected mice

Biomed Pharmacother. 2022 Dec:156:113811. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2022.113811. Epub 2022 Oct 12.

Authors

Ehab Kotb Elmahallawy¹, Hassan Ali Mohamed El Fadaly², Ashraf H Soror³, Fatma Abo Zakaib Ali⁴, Khaled A Abd El-Razik³, Yousef A Soliman⁵, Abdulsalam A M Alkhaldi⁶, Nisreen Khalid Aref Albezrah⁷, Ashraf Mohamed Barakat²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Zoonoses, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Sohag University, Sohag 82524, Egypt. Electronic address: eehaa@unileon.es.
² Department of Zoonotic Diseases, National Research Centre, El Buhouth st., Dokki, Giza 12622, Egypt.
³ Department of Animal Reproduction, Veterinary Research Institute, National Research Centre, Giza, Egypt.
⁴ Department of Pathology and Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Sohag University, Egypt.
⁵ Central Lab for Evaluation of Vet. Biologics (CLEVB), Abbasia, Cairo, Egypt.
⁶ Biology Department, College of Science, Jouf University, Sakaka 72388, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia.

PMID: 36242843
DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2022.113811

Abstract

The use of apitherapy and natural herbal medicines for combating toxoplasmosis has garnered major attention from many researchers. However, there is no available information regarding the potential use of a combination of propolis and wheat germ oil (WGO) in the treatment of toxoplasmosis. In the present study, the potential effects of propolis, WGO, and their combination in the treatment of chronic toxoplasmosis in Swiss albino mice were investigated. Following induction of chronic toxoplasmosis, the potential antiparasitic effects of these substances were evaluated by parasitological assessment and by counting of Toxoplasma cysts. Additionally, the effects of the treatments on parasite loads were analyzed using TaqMan real-time quantitative PCR targeting the Toxoplasma P29 gene followed by investigation of the major histopathological changes in the brain, uterus, and kidney. Interestingly, the combination of propolis and WGO significantly (P ≤ 0.05) decreased the parasite burden in experimental animals compared with burdens seen in groups treated with propolis or WGO alone. Furthermore, the quantification of the DNA concentrations of Toxoplasma P29 gene after the treatment with propolis and WGO revealed a reduction in parasite load in treated groups versus the control group (infected untreated animals). Importantly, the severity of histopathological lesions was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) improved following treatment with propolis and WGO. Collectively, the present study indicated a potential novel role for propolis and WGO as an active apitherapy and natural herbal medication for treating chronic toxoplasmosis, combat the disease, and which could also help overcome the side effects of chemical drugs.

Keywords: Chronic toxoplasmosis; Histopathology; Propolis; Real time polymerase chain reaction; Wheat germ oil.

MeSH terms

Animals
Female
Mice
Plant Oils / pharmacology
Plant Oils / therapeutic use
Propolis* / pharmacology
Propolis* / therapeutic use
Toxoplasma*
Toxoplasmosis*

Substances

wheat germ oil
Propolis
Plant Oils