The Therapeutic Efficacy of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles on Acute Toxoplasmosis in BALB/c Mice

Kiana Rafei  Siahkal; Hossein  Keshavarz; Saeedeh  Shojaee; Mehdi  Mohebali; Hojjat  Zeraati; Sanaz Jafarpour  Azami; Atefeh  Behkar; Mahboobeh  Salimi

doi:10.18502/ijpa.v18i4.14259

Kiana Rafei Siahkal Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran
Hossein Keshavarz Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran
Saeedeh Shojaee Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran
Mehdi Mohebali Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran
Hojjat Zeraati Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Sanaz Jafarpour Azami Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran
Atefeh Behkar Center for Research of Endemic Parasites of Iran (CREPI), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Mahboobeh Salimi Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijpa.v18i4.14259

Keywords: Toxoplasma gondii; Tachyzoite; Zinc oxide nanopar-ticles; BALB/c mice

Abstract

Background: Toxoplasma gondii infects nearly one-third of the world's population. Due to the significant side effects of current treatment options, identifying safe and effective therapies seems crucial. Nanoparticles (NPs) are new promising compounds in treating pathogenic organisms. Currently, no research has investigated the effects of zinc oxide NPs (ZnO-NPs) on Toxoplasma parasite. We aimed to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of ZnO-NPs against tachyzoite forms of T. gondii, RH strain in BALB/c mice.

Methods: In an experiment with 35 female BALB/c mice infected with T. gondii tachyzoites, colloidal ZnO-NPs at concentrations of 10, 20, and 50 ppm, as well as a 50 ppm ZnO solution and a control group, were orally administered four hours after inoculation and continued daily until the mices’ death. Survival rates were calculated and tachyzoite counts were evaluated in the peritoneal fluids of infected mice.

Results: The administration of ZnO-NPs resulted in the reduction of tachyzoite counts in infected mice compared to both the ZnO-treated and control group (P<0.001). Intervention with ZnO-NPs significantly increased the survival time compared to the control group (6.2±0.28 days, P-value <0.05), additionally, the highest dose of ZnO-NPs (50 ppm) showed the highest mice survival time (8.7±0.42 days).

Conclusion: ZnO-NPs were effective in decreasing the number of tachyzoites and increasing mice survival time in vivo. Moreover, there were no significant differences in survival time between the untreated control group and the group treated with zinc oxide, suggesting that, bulk ZnO is not significantly effective in comparison with ZnO-NPs.