Parasitological and Immunological Study of the Effect of Chitosan Nanoparticles and Paromomycin on Giardiasis

Abstract

Giardia lamblia is one of the most common protozoan causes of giardiasis and a common health problem in developing countries worldwide. Infected male albino rats with giardiasis were used in this study to assess the parasitological and immunological response to the efficiency of chitosan nanoparticles loaded with Paromomycin. After rats were orally inoculated with 10⁵ viable cysts/rat for acute infection, the experimental group was infected and treated for eight days with either paromomycin alone or in combination with chitosan nanoparticles. Giardia cysts in the stool it is counted. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits were used to determine the immunological characteristics of gamma interferon (INF-γ) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) cytokine response to antigens in serum samples after treatment. Examination showed that all treated infected rats had significantly fewer Giardia cysts than non-treated rats. In conclusion, the highest significant therapeutic effect was achieved by combining paromomycin with chitosan nanoparticles, as evidenced by the lower parasite numbers and amelioration of the immune status after treatment.