Immunomodulating Potential of Ekebergia capensis in Murine Schistosoma mansoni Juvenile and Adult Infection

Abstract

Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and affecting almost 250 million people. The drug of choice for treatment for Schistosomiasis has been Praziquantel which has been used for many years and there is a need to develop new drugs. The immunomodulatory potential of Ekebergia capensis extract on both juvenile and adult Schistosoma mansoni infection in vivo was evaluated in this study. Swiss albino mice were infected individually with 90 S. mansoni cercariae and randomized into groups of five each for i) plant extract treated groups ii) positive control groups treated with conventional drugs PZQ or artemether iii) infected but untreated (negative control) groups. The mice were treated orally with aqueous extracts of E. capensis at doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg at 2 weeks (juvenile worms) and 7 weeks (adult worms) post-infection. Immune immune-enhancing potential of the medicinal plant was determined by analyzing the levels of cytokines in serum samples that were collected before and after treatment. A BD-Cytometric Bead Array (CBA) mouse Th1/Th2/Th17 kit was used to quantitate the levels of cytokines using a flow cytometer (FACS Calibur) and analysis of the data was done using FCAP software. Results indicated that the medicinal plant extract had an immunomodulatory effect. There was a significant increase (P<0.05) in Th1 cytokines (IL-2, IFN- γ and TNF-α), a decrease in Th2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-6 and IL-10) and an increase in Th17 (IL-17). These findings confirm the potential use of medicinal plants in the management of schistosomiasis.