Abstract
Amoebic liver abscess (ALA) is the most common extraintestinal amoebiasis caused by Entamoeba histolytica (E. histolytica). However, despite current knowledge and scientific advances about this infection, there are no effective treatments to prevent it. Herein, the antiamoebic capacity of curcumin in a hamster model was evaluated. Curcumin (150 mg/kg, p.o., daily during 10 days before infection) considerably prevents liver damage induced at 12 and 48 h post-intrahepatic inoculation of trophozoites and decreases ALT, ALP, and γ-GTP activities, and macroscopic and microscopic observations were consistent with these results. On the other hand, after one week of intraportal inoculation, liver damage was prevented by curcumin (150 mg/kg, p.o., daily, 20 days before amoebic inoculation and during the week of infection); liver/body weight ratios and tissue and histological stains showed normal appearance; in addition, the increases in ALT, ALP, and γ-GTP activities were prevented; the depletion of glycogen content induced by the amoebic damage was partially but significantly prevented, while NF-κB activity was inhibited and the expression of IL-1β was reduced; Nrf2 production showed a tendency to increase it, and HO-1 protein was overexpressed. These results suggest for the first time that curcumin can be a compound with antiamoebic effect in the liver, suggesting that its daily use could help greatly decrease the incidence of this type of infection.
Highlights
Amoebiasis caused by the protozoan Entamoeba histolytica (E. histolytica) remains a public health problem with clinical importance because it has a worldwide distribution, being more frequent in low-income countries, such as México, Central and South America, India, and Africa [1,2,3]
It has been recently shown that hepatic invasion by E. histolytica increases the oxidative stress and proinflammatory cytokine production through the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) activation and on the other hand inhibits the nuclear factor erythroid 2- (NF-E2-) related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway, an important inducer of antioxidant enzymes, favoring the evolution of liver damage [5]
Inflammatory process during amoebic liver abscess (ALA) was fundamental to demonstrate the efficiency of curcumin treatment against hepatic amoebiasis because this compound is credited with great anti-inflammatory capacity
Summary
Amoebiasis caused by the protozoan Entamoeba histolytica (E. histolytica) remains a public health problem with clinical importance because it has a worldwide distribution, being more frequent in low-income countries, such as México, Central and South America, India, and Africa [1,2,3]. E. histolytica primarily infects the colon; it can become invasive, taking advantage of its capacities for adherence, motility, and cytotoxicity towards host cells, migrating to the liver causing amoebic liver abscess (ALA), which leads to high morbidity and mortality. This pathology is characterized by the presence of one or multiple abscesses, as a result of uncontrolled inflammation, accompanied by the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) [4]. Intrahepatic inoculation 5×105 trophozoites Sacrifice 10 days 0 h 12 h. Intraportal inoculation 5×105 trophozoites 48 h Sacrifice 20 days Day 0 We evaluated curcumin (diferuloylmethane) during amoebic liver infection in hamster because several authors have postulated that this
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