Novel albendazole formulations given during the intestinal phase of Trichinella spiralis infection reduce effectively parasitic muscle burden in mice

GARCÍA, A.; BARRERA M. G; PICCIRILLI, G.N.; VASCONI, M.D.; DI MASSO, R.J.; LEONARDI, D.; HINRICHSEN, L.I.; LAMAS, M.C.

PARASITOLOGY INTERNATIONAL

ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2013 p. 568 - 570

1383-5769

Trichinellosis is a zoonotic disease affecting people all over the world, for which there is no speedy and reliable treatment. Albendazole (ABZ), an inexpensive benzimidazole used in oral chemotherapy against helminthic diseases, has a broad spectrum activity and is well tolerated. However, the low absorption and variable bioavailability of the drug due to its low aqueous solubility are serious disadvantages for a successful therapy. In this study, we evaluated the in vivo antiparasitic activity of three novel solid microencapsulated formulations, designed to improve ABZ dissolution rate, in a murine model of trichinellosis. Both ABZ and the microparticulate formulations were administered during the intestinal phase of the parasite cycle, on days 5 and 6 post-infection. This protocol significantly decreased muscle larval burden measured in the parenteral phase, on day 30 post-infection, when compared with the untreated control. Moreover, two of the three microencapsulated formulations both strongly and consistently reduced worm burden.