Nematocidal activity of chitosan nanoparticles conjugated with albendazole against the enteral and parenteral phases of trichinosis in experimentally infected mice

Trichinosis is a serious parasitic zoonotic disease caused mainly by Trichinella spiralis. The used drugs for treatment of trichinosis showed limited bioavailability and high degree of resistance. Moreover, they have a very poor effect in treatment of encysted larvae. Therefore, there is a need for development of new agents which help in improving the bioavailability of the used drugs and enable them to reach different tissues. This study was designed to assess the use of chitosan nanoparticles (CSNPs) in conjugation with full and half dose albendazole (ABZ) in treatment of intestinal and muscular trichinosis. Albino mice (84 mice) were used to evaluate the efficacy of drugs and divided into seven groups; I: control, II: ABZ (50 mg/kg) treated, III: ABZ (25 mg/kg) treated, IV: ABZ (50 mg/kg) conjugated CSNPs treated, V: ABZ (25 mg/kg) conjugated CSNPs treated, VI: CS treated and VII: CSNPs treated. Parasitological and histopathological examinations were used to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of the used drugs. Results showed significant reduction of adult Trichinella extracted from intestine of all ABZ treated groups either conjugated or not with the highest reduction rate in group IV followed by group V with percentage of reduction of 99.33% and 98.11%, respectively and marked improvement of histopathological examination. Also, results showed significant reduction of Trichinella larvae extracted from muscles of group IV, V and VII with the highest reduction rate in group IV with percentage of reduction of 100% in muscle larvae and marked improvement of histopathological examination. It was concluded that albendazole full dose conjugated chitosan nanoparticles can be a good candidate drug for treating both intestinal and muscular trichinosis.