The effects of saturated fatty acids on Giardia duodenalis trophozoites in vitro
| Autor: | Deborah J. Stenzel, PA McDonnell, Paran Rayan |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2005 |
| Předmět: |
Giardiasis
Drug medicine.medical_specialty media_common.quotation_subject Longevity Antiprotozoal Agents Palmitic Acid Drug resistance In Vitro Techniques Microbiology Inhibitory Concentration 50 chemistry.chemical_compound Medical microbiology Microscopy Electron Transmission Parasitic Sensitivity Tests medicine Animals media_common Dose-Response Relationship Drug General Veterinary biology Giardia Fatty Acids Lauric Acids General Medicine biology.organism_classification Lauric acid Metronidazole Infectious Diseases Microscopy Fluorescence chemistry Insect Science Saturated fatty acid Microscopy Electron Scanning Protozoa Parasitology Caprylates Decanoic Acids medicine.drug |
| Zdroj: | Parasitology Research. 97:191-200 |
| ISSN: | 1432-1955 0932-0113 |
| Popis: | Giardia duodenalis is a protozoal, intestinal parasite that is a common aetiological agent of infectious diarrhoea in humans worldwide. Chemotherapeutic intervention presently offers a limited range of drugs and these are usually only employed after clinical diagnosis. Moreover, these drugs are ineffective against the infectious cysts, can produce unpleasant side effects, and are expensive with limited availability in developing countries. Frequent reports of drug toxicity, treatment failure and parasite drug resistance have, in some instances, also resulted in the increasing reluctance to over-prescribe synthetic anti-microbials. Alternatively, there is now mounting evidence to suggest that some of the naturally derived, medium-chain, saturated fatty acids (MCSFAs) possess anti-microbial and anti-parasitic properties. We have therefore examined the effects of four different fatty acids on G. duodenalis trophozoites in vitro. Cytotoxicity was determined using fluorescence, scanning and transmission electron microscopic techniques and standard cytotoxicity assays. Our studies have confirmed that the MCSFA, dodecanoic acid (C: 12) (common name: lauric acid), is anti-giardial, with an LD50 concentration comparable to that of metronidazole, the drug of choice in the treatment of giardiasis. Dodecanoic acid appeared to induce trophozoite death by accumulating within the parasite cytoplasm resulting in rupture of the cell membrane. This study has opened fresh avenues for development of natural drug therapy in which food supplementation may augment, or even replace, some of the standard chemotherapeutic agents presently employed in the treatment of giardiasis and possibly other infectious intestinal diseases. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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