Sunday, October 14, 2007

Combined Use of Propolis, Metronidazole Helps Treat Giardiasis

Effect of Propolis Versus Metronidazole and Their Combined Use in Treatment of Acute Experimental Giardiasis
Journal of the Egyptian Society of Parasitology, 2007 Aug;37(2 Suppl):691-710

Propolis, a honey bee product, gained popularity in alternative medicine. Its prophylactic and therapeutic effects were experimentally evaluated.

One hundred and fifty immunocompetent mice were orally infected by 5 x 10(5) axenically cultivated Giardia lamblia trophozoites

In treatment it gave a highly significant decrease in trophozoite count than that obtained by MTZ 6 days after infection but the efficacy was almost equal after 12 days. The mice treated with propolis alone showed a reversed CD4+: CD8+ T-lymphocyte ratio, such strong immune enhancing effect resulted in an undesirable increase in inflammatory response at intestinal level.

The combined therapy showed a stronger efficacy in reducing the parasite count than that gained by each drug alone. Their combined use caused an immunological balance as shown by the T-lymphocyte profile that saved the intestinal homeostasis and histological architecture.

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