Anti-protozoal activity of extracts from chicory (Cichorium intybus) against Cryptosporidium parvum in cell culture

• Published in: Scientific reports 2019-12, Vol.9 (1), p.20414-9, Article 20414
• Main Authors: Woolsey, Ian David, Valente, Angela H., Williams, Andrew R., Thamsborg, Stig M., Simonsen, Henrik T., Enemark, Heidi L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 13; 13/106; 14; 14/1; 14/34; 14/63; 631/154/51; 631/326/417; Adenocarcinoma; Animal biology; Antiparasitic agents; Antiprotozoal Agents - pharmacology; Bioactive compounds; Cell culture; Cell Line, Tumor; Cichorium; Cichorium intybus; Colon; Cryptosporidiosis; Cryptosporidiosis - parasitology; Cryptosporidium; Cryptosporidium parvum; Cryptosporidium parvum - drug effects; Health problems; Herbivores; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Immunofluorescence; Lactones; Leaves; Life Sciences; Livestock; Livestock production; multidisciplinary; Oocysts; Oocysts - drug effects; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Protozoa; Public health; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sesquiterpene lactones; Toxicity; Veterinary medicine and animal Health
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-56619-0

Cryptosporidium spp. are responsible for severe public health problems and livestock production losses. Treatment options are limited to only one drug available for human and bovine cryptosporidiosis, respectively, and both drugs exhibit only partial efficacy. Sesquiterpene lactones (SL) are plant bioactive compounds that function as a defence mechanism against herbivores. SL have demonstrated anti-parasitic properties against a range of parasitic taxa but knowledge about their anti- Cryptosporidium efficacy is limited. The effect of SL-rich leaf and root extracts from chicory ( Cichorium intybus cv. Spadona) was investigated using human colon adenocarcinoma (HCT-8) cells infected with Cryptosporidium parvum . C . parvum oocysts were inoculated onto the cell monolayer and i) incubated for 4 hours with extracts (leaf and root extracts 300, 150, 75, 37.5, 18.75 and 9.375 μg/mL) in triplicates followed by incubation in bioactive free media (sporozoite invasion assays) or ii) incubated for 4 hours in bioactive free media followed by 48-hours incubation with extracts (growth inhibition assays). Extract toxicity on HCT-8 cells was assessed via water-soluble tetrazolium (WST)-1 assay prior to quantifying parasitic growth via immunofluorescence. Both extracts demonstrated dose-dependent inhibition in the growth inhibition assays ( p  =