CURCUMIN IN TREATMENT OF EXPERIMENTAL TRICHINOSIS

Trichinella spiralis is one of the most widespread zoonotic parasitic nematodes in the world. There is an increasing interest in developing new safe and effective anthelminthic herbal drug against T. spiralis . This study assessed the effect of curcumin (bioactive compound of C. longa ) in treatment of T. spiralis infected mice compared with albendazole. Seventy-five albino mice were classified into four groups. GI: Non-infected control, GII: Infected non-treated control, GIII: Treated early 3 rd dpi by albendazole alone, curcumin alone, and combination of albendazole & curcumin, and GIV: Treated on 31 st dpi by the same drugs. Mice were sacrificed on the 7 th dpi for intestinal phase assessment and on the 49 th dpi for muscle assessment. Treatment efficiency was assessed by parasitological and histopathological examinations. The results showed a significant decrease in intestinal adults ' count in all treated groups compared to non-treated cont rolones. Reduction rates of the intestinal phase were 92.87% in albendazole & curcumin treated group followed by 87.58% in albendazole treated group and 62.93% in curcumin treated group. There was also significant decrease in muscle larvae count compared to positive control ones by reduction rates of 84.03%, 70.38% & 44.96% for albendazole &curcumin, albendazole alone and curcumin alone respectively. The histopathological results showed improvement in intestinal and muscular architecture in all treated groups compared to positive control one, particularly in combined albendazole & curcumin treated group.