Biosynthesis of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles by Origanum majorana Aqueous Leaves Extracts, Characterization and Evaluated Against to Schistosoma haematobium

Schistosomiasis, caused by Schistosoma worms, is a major neglected tropical disease in Africa, this disease is ranked as second after malaria. Nanotechnology is important for treating schistosomiasis while minimizing chemotherapy side effects. The current investigate aimed to assess the effectiveness of biosynthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs), which were used for the first time in an attempt to find alternative treatment for schistosomiasis and synthesized by Origanum majorana, and to compare them with praziquantel (PZQ), the only chemical treatment approved by the World Health Organization. The study included evaluations both in the laboratory and in vivo. In the laboratory experiment, adult worms exposed to ZnO nanoparticles at concentrations of 100, 50, 25, 12.5, 6.25, and 3.125 μg/mL showed the highest complete mortality rates at concentrations of 100 and 50 μg/mL after 6 and 12 h, respectively. Combinations of ZnO nanoparticles at concentrations of 12.5 + 0.4, 25 + 0.3, 50 + 0.2, and 75 + 0.1 μg/mL with PZQ were also tested. In vivo, four groups of hamsters infected with Schistosoma haematobium were treated. In hamsters, the number of eggs present in the tissues as well as the size and number of granulomas significantly decreased when ZnO nanoparticles combined with PZQ were administered. The properties of ZnO particles synthesized by Origanum majorana were consistent and confirmed by all previous studies. These results indicate that green ZnO nanoparticles with PZQ showed high activity against S. haematobium in laboratory experiments.