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Amany Ibrahim Ammar, 1 Amira Fathy Afifi, 1 Abdallah Essa, 2, 3 Asmaa Galal-Khallaf, 4 Mostafa Mohamed Mokhtar, 5 Somaia Shehab-Eldeen, 2, 3 Amany Ahmed Rady 1 1Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia University, Shebin El Kom, Menoufia, Egypt; 2Tropical Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia University, Shebin El Kom, Menoufia, Egypt; 3Internal Medicine Department, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsaa, Saudi Arabia; 4Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Menoufia University, Shebin El- Kom, Menoufia, Egypt; 5Department of Zoology and Entomology, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, EgyptCorrespondence: Abdallah EssaFaculty of Medicine, Menoufia University, Yassen Abd Al Ghafar Street, Shebin Elkom City 32511, Menoufia Governorate, EgyptTel +20-10-2242-4341Email abdallah.essa@med.menofia.edu.egBackground: Schistosomiasis is a tropical parasitic disease treated exclusively with praziquantel (PZQ). However, PZQ has low efficacy against schistosomula and juveniles. In addition, the emergence of PZQ resistance has prompted the search for new drugs.Methods: This study investigated the effects of pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo)-seed oil (PSO) on Schistosoma mansoni adults, juveniles, and newly formed schistosomula in vitro by exposing the parasites to increasing concentrations of PSO (20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 μl/mL) with variable incubation periods (24, 48, and 72 hours). Dose–response effects of PSO on mortality rate, worm activity, and tegumental changes were studied. Also, effect on DNA were assessed with microsatellite analysis.Results: All tested stages of S. mansoni were susceptible to PSO, which was more effective than PZQ on juvenile worms and schistosomula. Juveniles and schistosomula S. mansoni were more sensitive to the antischistosomal activity of PSO than adult worms. PSO showed evident changes in the integuments of adults, juveniles, and schistosomula. These changes were more evident with increased concentrations. At the genomic level, PSO induced clear qualitative and quantitative changes in the microsatellite loci R95529 and SMD57 of S. mansoni adults and schistosomula. This microsatellite instability is being reported through the current study for S. mansoni in response to PSO for the first time.Conclusion: This study suggested that PSO possesses effective antischistosomal activity against various stages of S. mansoni. Further investigations are needed to figure out the mechanism of action of PSO on this parasite.Keywords: Schistosoma mansoni, Cucurbita pepo, praziquantel, tegumental alteration, microsatellite |
