The in Vitro Antischistosomal Activity and Genotoxicity of the Active Ingredients of Allium sativum (allicin) and Curcuma longa (curcumin)

Background: in this study, we assessed the in vitro antischistosomal activity of the active ingredients of allium sativum (allicin) and curcuma longa (curcumin) on schistosoma mansoni. methods: this study was conducted in faculty of science, port said university, egypt (2018). adult worms were exposed to a range of concentrations of al or cu, and worm survival was assessed 24 h post-exposure to calculate the lethal concentration of the compounds. scanning electron microscopy was used to assess ultrastructural changes in the surface of al- or cu- treated worms. the genotox-icities of al and cu on s. mansoni were determined by dna fragmentation analy-sis. results: we determined the concentrations of al and cu required to kill 50% of s. mansoni (lc50). the lc50 of al was 8.66 µl/ml, whereas 100% mortality of s. mansoni was achieved by al at concentrations of 50 µl/ml. the lc50 of cu was 87.25 µl/ml, with the highest mortality of 91.3% seen after 24 h exposure to 100 µg/ml cu. ultrastructural studies revealed that exposure to either al or cu led to mild or severe surface damage to s. mansion, respectively. the degree of damage in the worms was sex-dependent. interestingly, while cu exposure resulted in dna fragmentation in s. mansoni worms, we observed no genotoxic effects of al. conclusion: both al and cu exhibit antischistosomal activity; the study provid-ed evidence suggesting that these compounds act through distinct mechanisms. these promising results encourage further investigation into these compounds as potential antischistosomal agents, either alone or as complementary treatments to praziquantel.