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<p><i>Giardia lamblia</i> is a non-invasive enteric protozoan enteric protozoan that infects about 300 million cases annually. According to the latest WHO report, giardiasis is more prevalent in children aged between 2 and 12&#xa0;years old, representing a serious threat to their health and development. Moreover, chronic <i>Giardia</i> infection is accompanied by several complications, such as irritable bowel syndrome and lactose intolerance. Despite the high prevalence of giardiasis, its treatment depends solely on metronidazole (MTZ). Besides the known side effects of MTZ, 20% of the cases showed treatment failure due to drug resistance. Neem oil has recently gained medical attention as it contains several bioactive compounds. In the current study, neem oil has been used as a therapeutic agent against experimental giardiasis in a dose of 25&#xa0;μl/mouse/day for 7 consecutive days in comparison to the standard dose of MTZ. Neem oil caused a significant reduction of the parasite load, reaching 86% and 81.7% reduction of cysts and trophozoites, respectively. This reduction is accompanied by significant disruption of the ultrastructure of <i>Giardia</i> trophozoites with amelioration of the intestinal epithelial barrier as detected by the electron microscope. As detected by H&amp;E stain, neem oil caused normalization of the intestinal crypt to villous ratio with restoration of the goblet cells. All these effects could be attributed to the flavonoids, phenolic, and alkaloids contained in the neem oil as measured in the current study. To detect the immunostimulatory role of neem oil, IL-17 was measured in the sera of the studied mice. Infected mice treated with neem oil showed a significant rise in the level of IL-17 up to 904 ± 19.64&#xa0;Pg/mg. This level is even higher than that detected in infected mice treated with MTZ. In conclusion, neem oil could be used as an alternative safe treatment against <i>Giardia</i> infection.</p>

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Azadirachta indica oil: can it eliminate Giardia infection?

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月28日

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  • Eman Attia Elmorsy,
  • Marwa Mohammed Abdelaziz,
  • Heba F. Ibrahim,
  • Hoda Adel Rashed

摘要

Giardia lamblia is a non-invasive enteric protozoan enteric protozoan that infects about 300 million cases annually. According to the latest WHO report, giardiasis is more prevalent in children aged between 2 and 12 years old, representing a serious threat to their health and development. Moreover, chronic Giardia infection is accompanied by several complications, such as irritable bowel syndrome and lactose intolerance. Despite the high prevalence of giardiasis, its treatment depends solely on metronidazole (MTZ). Besides the known side effects of MTZ, 20% of the cases showed treatment failure due to drug resistance. Neem oil has recently gained medical attention as it contains several bioactive compounds. In the current study, neem oil has been used as a therapeutic agent against experimental giardiasis in a dose of 25 μl/mouse/day for 7 consecutive days in comparison to the standard dose of MTZ. Neem oil caused a significant reduction of the parasite load, reaching 86% and 81.7% reduction of cysts and trophozoites, respectively. This reduction is accompanied by significant disruption of the ultrastructure of Giardia trophozoites with amelioration of the intestinal epithelial barrier as detected by the electron microscope. As detected by H&E stain, neem oil caused normalization of the intestinal crypt to villous ratio with restoration of the goblet cells. All these effects could be attributed to the flavonoids, phenolic, and alkaloids contained in the neem oil as measured in the current study. To detect the immunostimulatory role of neem oil, IL-17 was measured in the sera of the studied mice. Infected mice treated with neem oil showed a significant rise in the level of IL-17 up to 904 ± 19.64 Pg/mg. This level is even higher than that detected in infected mice treated with MTZ. In conclusion, neem oil could be used as an alternative safe treatment against Giardia infection.