THERAPEUTIC EFFECT OF TAMARINDUS INDICA EXTRACTS ON THE PATHOGENESIS OF ENTAMOEBA HISTOLYTICA IN-VIVO

Entamoeba histolytic is a protozoan parasite which causes amoebiasis, about 50 million people are affected yearly, and it caused more than 100,000 deaths per year. The study investigates the therapeutic effect of ethanolic and aqueous Tamarindus indica leaves extracts on infected rats with Entamoeba histolytica. Twenty-one Rattus norvegicus rats were infected with Entamoeba histolytica and divided into seven groups (three rats in each group). Groups (1, 2, and 3) were treated with aqueous Tamarindus indica extracts at doses 125, 250, and 500 mg/kg respectively for ten days. Groups (4, 5 and 6) were treated with ethanolic extract of Tamarindus indica at doses 125, 250, and 500 mg/kg respectively for ten days. Group (7) was left untreated as a positive control group. The results showed a significant decrease at p≤0.05 in the numbers of parasite cell from the second day of treatment in all the groups treated with aqueous as well as ethanolic extract. This decrease gradually continued during the days of treatment until it reached zero on the last day of treatment for the dose of 500 mg/kg for both aqueous and ethanol extract. Histopathological study showed that Entamoeba histolytica causes mucosal damage, inflammation and necrosis for colon, while ethanolic extract of Tamarindus indica at dose 500 mg/kg repairs the parasite damage in comparison with a range of positive and negative control groups. Extracts of Tamarindus indica leaves indicated neither any toxic effect nor mortality up to the 1000 mg/kg.