Schistosomes have plagued humans for at least four millennia. Success of infection is mainly attributed to its unique double membrane outer-surface or tegument, which regulates nutritional and immunological interactions between the parasite and the host. This study has been undertaken to evaluate the schistosomicidal activity of curcumin on the ultrastructure of tegument of adult blood fluke, S. mansoni. Whole flukes were exposed in vitro to curcumin for 3 and 6 hours at concentrations of 10, 50 and 100 µM/ml and tegumental changes were examined by scanning electron microscopy. Results revealed that female and male worms treated with curcumin lost their normal surface architecture, since its surface showed destruction in the oral and ventral suckers as well as partial loss of tubercles' spines, erosion in inter-tubercle tegmental regions and appearance of numerous small blebs around tubercles. The perceived deformations were time and concentration dependent. These findings confirmed that curcumin is a promising therapeutic agent with antischistosomal activity and it may represent a promising alternative treatment for the control of S. mansoni.
Key words: Schistosoma mansoni, curcumin, tegument, ultrastructure, SEM.
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