Liposomal formulation of turmerone-rich hexane fractions from Curcuma longa enhances their antileishmanial activity.

Promastigote forms of Leishmania amazonensis were treated with different concentrations of two fractions of Curcuma longa cortex rich in turmerones and their respective liposomal formulations in order to evaluate growth inhibition and the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC). In addition, cellular alterations of treated promastigotes were investigated under transmission and scanning electron microscopies. LipoRHIC and LipoRHIWC presented lower MIC, 5.

Attraction of mosquitoes to domestic cats in a heartworm enzootic region.

Heartworm disease is caused by a mosquito-borne parasite that can affect many different mammalian species and has worldwide distribution. The agent, Dirofilaria immitis (Leidy 1856), infect mainly dogs but feline infection have been frequently reported in the last decade. Feline heartworm infection is difficult to detect, therefore, low reported prevalence could reflect true low prevalence or poor diagnostic efficiency.