The Effects of Commercially Available , , LB, and Zinc as Alternatives Therapy in Experimental Mice Challenged with .

Background: Waterborne cryptosporidiosis is the second cause of diarrhea in young children and immunocompromised hosts after rotavirus. Except for nitazoxanide (NTZ), there is no accredited cryptosporidiosis treatment to date. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find an effective and safe treatment for cryptosporidiosis. This study aimed to investigate the possible anti-protozoal effects of (clove) oil, (dill) seeds oil, LB, and zinc against in comparison to NTZ.

Methods: Besides the negative control, mice from six experimental groups (T1-T6) were infected with oocysts. On the seventh day post-infection (PID), mice from five groups were treated for 8 consecutive days with NTZ, clove oil, dill seed oil, LB, and zinc commercial forms (T2-T5). Oocysts shedding rate, differences of mice body weight, serum IL10, and TNF-α, cryptosporidial antigen, and cd3 at the intestinal mucosa were evaluated at the end of the experiment.

Results: The mean of the oocysts' shedding rate was significantly lower in all treated groups than in the non-treated group. The oocysts reduction rate was the highest in zinc-treated mice (98.3%), LB and dill-treated groups (95.77%), and the NTZ-treated group (91.55%). Clove oil was the least effective, with a 74.65% reduction rate. Excluding the clove oil-treated group, immunohistochemical analysis revealed the clearance of the antigen in the intestinal tissue in all treated groups.

Conclusion: The study has provided a rational basis for using these safe, cheap, and commercially available alternatives in treating cryptosporidiosis combined with NTZ.