Giardicidal effect of black tea (camellia sinensis) in the treatment of giardia duodenalis in swiss mice
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21527/2176-7114.2025.50.15395Palavras-chave:
chá preto, Camellia sinensis, resistência medicamentosa, giardíase, Giardia duodenalis, metronidazolResumo
This study evaluated the in vivo giardicidal potential of black tea (Camellia sinensis) in male Swiss mice experimentally infected with 104 cysts of Giardia duodenalis assemblage BIV. The animals were assigned to nine groups and treated with filtered water (GC+), metronidazole (MT, 500 mg/kg/day), black tea (CP) at 100, 150, or 200 mg/kg/day, or combinations of CP with MT. A negative control group (GC−) included uninfected animals receiving filtered water. Treatments were administered for seven days, and infection status was assessed through parasitological analysis and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). CP at 200 mg/kg induced complete elimination of G. duodenalis, while doses of 100 and 150 mg/kg reduced parasite load from high to medium and low levels, respectively. MT alone did not result in cure but reduced parasite burden. The combination of MT with any CP dose achieved full parasite clearance, indicating a synergistic effect. These results demonstrate a dose-dependent giardicidal effect of black tea and suggest that its combination with metronidazole enhances treatment efficacy. The findings reinforce the therapeutic potential of phytotherapeutics as effective, low-cost adjuncts in the management of giardiasis. From a health promotion perspective, the identification of natural antiparasitic compounds supports the development of accessible and sustainable treatment strategies. This is particularly relevant in resource-limited settings, where conventional therapies may be less accessible or poorly tolerated. Further research, including clinical trials and mechanistic studies, is warranted to explore the broader applicability of these combinations in human populations.
Referências
1Sadaf T, Javid A, Hussain A, Bukhari SM, Hussain SM, Ain Q, Ashraf S, Suleman S, Saleem M, Azam SM, Ahmud U, Ali W. Studies on parasitic prevalence in pet birds from Punjab, Pakistan. Braz J Biol. 2021;83:e246229. https://doi.org/10.1590/1519-6984.246229
2Dixon BR. Giardia duodenalis in humans and animals - Transmission and disease. Res Vet Sci. 2021;135:283–289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rvsc.2020.09.034
3Giallourou N, Arnold J, McQuade ETR, Awoniyi M, Becket RVT, Walsh K, et al. Giardia hinders growth by disrupting nutrient metabolism independent of inflammatory enteropathy. Nat Commun. 2023;14:2840. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38363-2
4European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Giardiasis (lambliasis). ECDC Annual Epidemiological Report for 2019. Stockholm: ECDC; 2022. Available from: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/giardiasis-lambliasis-annual-epidemiological-report-2019
5 Sandoval-Ramírez T, Seco-Hidalgo V, Calderon-Espinosa E, Garcia-Ramón D, López A, Calvopiña M, Gómez CF, Rodríguez CA, Cevallos CM, León CA, Guevara CE. Epidemiology of giardiasis and assemblages A and B and effects on diarrhea and growth trajectories during the first 8 years of life: Analysis of a birth cohort in a rural district in tropical Ecuador. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2023;17(7):e0011777. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0011777
6Leung AKC, Leung AAM, Wong AHC, Sergi CM, Kam JKM. Giardiasis: An Overview. Recent Pat Inflamm Allergy Drug Discov. 2019;13(2):134–43. https://doi.org/10.2174/1872213x13666190618124901
7Sabatke B, Chave PFP, Cordeiro LMC, Ramirez MI. Synergistic Effect of Polysaccharides from Chamomile Tea with Nitazoxanide Increases Treatment Efficacy against Giardia intestinalis. Life. 2022;12(12):2091. https://doi.org/10.3390/life12122091
8Mørch K, Hanevik K. Giardiasis treatment: an update with a focus on refractory disease. Curr Opin Infect Dis. 2020;33(5):355–64. https://doi.org/10.1097/QCO.0000000000000668
9Argüello-García R, Leitsch D, Skinner-Adams T, Ortega-Pierres MG. Drug resistance in Giardia: Mechanisms and alternative treatments for Giardiasis. Adv. Parasitol. 2020;107:201-282. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.apar.2019.11.003
10Amirmohammadi M, Khajoenia S, Bahmani M, Rafieian-Kopaei M, Eftekhari Z, Qorbani, M. In vivo evaluation of antiparasitic effects of Artemisia abrotanum and Salvia officinalis extracts on Syphacia obvelata, Aspiculoris tetrapetra and Hymenolepis nana parasites. Asian. Pac. J. Trop. Dis. 2014;4(1):250-254. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2222-1808(14)60449-7
11Alnomasy S, Al-Awsi GRL, Raziani Y, Albalawi AE, Alanazi AD, Niazi M, Mahmoudvand H. Systematic review on medicinal plants used for the treatment of Giardia infection. Saudi J Biol Sci. 2021;28(9):5391–402. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.05.069
12Almeida CR, Bezagio RC, Colli CM, Romera LIL, Gomes ML. Eliminação de Giardia muris em modelo experimental murino naturalmente infectado: Tratamento complementar. Res. Soc. Dev. 2021;10(7):e60010716996. https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v10i7.16996
13Almeida CR, Bezagio RC, Colli CM, Romera LIL, Ferrari A, Gomes ML. Elimination of Giardia duodenalis BIV in vivo using natural extracts in microbiome and dietary supplements. Parasitol. Int. 2022;86:102484. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.parint.2021.102484
14Zaheer S, Hussain A, Khalil A, Mansha M, Lateef M. In vitro anthelmintic activity of ethanolic extracts of Camellia sinensis L. and Albizia lebbeck L. against Haemonchus contortus. Punjab Univ J Zool. 2019;34(1):41–5. https://doi.org/10.17582/journal.pujz/2019.34.1.41.45
15Saeed M, Naveed M, Arif M, Kakar MU, Manzoor R, El-Hack MEA, Alagawany M, Tiwari R, Khandia R, Munjal A, Karthik K, Dhama K, Iqbal HMN, Dadar M, Sun C. Green tea (Camellia sinensis) and L-theanine: Medicinal values and beneficial applications in humans - A comprehensive review. Biomed. Pharmacother. 2017;95:1260-1275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2017.09.024
16Pan SY, Nie Q, Tai HC, Yuan Q, Zhao YL, Kong LD. Tea and tea drinking: China’s outstanding contributions to the mankind. Chin Med. 2022;17(1):27. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13020-022-00571-1
17Nimbalkar VK, Gangar J, Shai S, Rane P, Mohanta SK, Kannan S, Ingle A, Mittal N, Rane S, Mahimkar MB. Prevention of carcinogen-induced oral cancers by polymeric black tea polyphenols via modulation of EGFR-Akt-mTOR pathway. Sci. Rep. 2022;12:14516. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-18680-0
18Yussof A, Cammalleri B, Fayemiwo O, Lopez S, Chu T. Antibacterial and sporicidal activity evaluation of theaflavin-3,3'-digallate. Int J Mol Sci. 2022;23(4):2153. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23042153
19Sun H, Chen Y, Cheng M, Zhang X, Zheng X, Zhang Z. The modulatory effect of polyphenols from green tea, oolong tea and black tea on human intestinal microbiota in vitro. Food Sci. Technol. 2018;55(1):399-407. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-017-2951-7
20Zhang X, Zhang H, Zhang J, Zhang Z, Zhang Y, Zhang L. Tea polyphenols: A natural antioxidant regulates gut flora to protect the intestinal mucosa and prevent chronic diseases. Antioxidants (Basel). 2022;11(2):253. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox11020253
21Alnomasy S, Al-Awsi GRL, Raziani Y, Albalawi AE, Alanazi AD, Niazi M, Mahmoudvand H. Systematic review on medicinal plants used for the treatment of Giardia infection. Saudi J Biol Sci. 2021;28(9):5391-5402. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.05.069
22Strober W. Trypan Blue Exclusion Test of Cell Viability. Cur. Protoco. Immunol. 2015;111:A.3B.1-A.3B.3. https://doi.org/10.1002/0471142735.ima03bs111
23Romera LIL, Bezagio RC, Ferreira WC, Almeida CR, Gomes ML. Male Swiss mice (Mus musculus) as a most suitable experimental model for the study of Giardia duodenalis BIV. Res. Soc. Dev. 2021;10(10):e493101019250. https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v10i10.19250
24Bezagio RC, Colli CM, Romera LIL, Ferreira ÉC, Falavigna-Guilherme AL, Gomes ML. Synergistic effects of fenbendazole and metronidazole against Giardia muris in Swiss mice naturally infected. Parasitol. Res. 2017;116:939-944. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-016-5367-9
26 Neves DP. Diagnóstico parasitológico de parasitas intestinais. In: Neves DP, editor. Parasitologia humana. 13ª ed. São Paulo: Atheneu; 2016. p. 210–220.
27Uda-Shimoda CF, Colli CM, Pavanelli MF, Falavigna-Guilherme AL, Gomes ML. Simplified protocol for DNA extraction and amplification of 2 molecular markers to detect and type Giardia duodenalis. Diagn. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. 2014;78(1):53-58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2013.09.008
28Bezagio RC, Colli CM, Romera LIL, Almeida CR, Ferreira ÉC, Mattia S, Gomes ML. Improvement in cyst recovery and molecular detection of Giardia duodenalis from stool samples. Mol. Biol. Rep. 2020;47(2):1233–1239. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-019-05224-5
29Colli CM, Bezagio RC, Nishi L, Bignotto TS, Ferreira ÉC, Falavigna-Guilherme AL, Gomes ML. Identical Assemblage of Giardia duodenalis in Humans, Animals and Vegetables in an Urban Area in Southern Brazil Indicates a Relationship among Them. PLos ONE. 2015;10:e0118065. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0118065
30Vivas WLP. Manual de Hematologia [Internet]. Santa Catarina: Instituto Federal de Santa Catarina (IFSC); [cited 2025 Mar 28]. Available from: https://docente.ifsc.edu.br/rosane.aquino/MaterialDidatico/AnalisesClinicas/hemato/Manual%20de%20Hematologia.pdf
31Antunes RS, Morais AF. Correlação de alterações hematológicas em doenças parasitárias. Rev. Bras. Anal. Clin. 2019;51(3):191-195. https://doi.org/10.21877/2448-3877.201900808
32Ehrens A, Hoerauf A, Hübner MP. Eosinophils in filarial infections: Inducers of protection or pathology? Front Immunol. 2022;13:869163. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.869163
33 Gaur P, Zaffran I, George T, Abdelwahab SF, Tata A, Ryz N, Blanchette L, Flaczyk A, Obiri-Yeboah D, Befus AD. Eosinophils as modulators of host defense during parasitic, fungal, bacterial, and viral infections. J Leukoc Biol. 2024;116(2):307-320. https://doi.org/10.1093/jleuko/qiae051
34Yagi K, Fujita Y, Ando N, Wada M, Sugiura Y, Suzuki K, Okada M, Yano H. Marked eosinophilia and systemic symptoms caused by giardiasis in an elderly woman. IDCases. 2023;32:e01835. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idcr.2023.e01835
35Kamel AA, Abdel-Latef GK. Prevalence of intestinal parasites with molecular detection and identification of Giardia duodenalis in fecal samples of mammals, birds and zookeepers at Beni-Suef Zoo, Egypt. J Parasit Dis. 2021;45(3):695-705. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12639-020-01341-2
36Rosenberg HF, Dyer KD, Foster PS. Eosinophils in helminth infection: Defenders and dupes. Curr Opin Immunol. 2016;42:1–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coi.2016.03.005
37Svensson M, Högbom M, Alvarsson J, et al. Eosinophils are dispensable for the regulation of IgA and Th17 responses in Giardia muris infection. Parasite Immunol. 2020;42(10):e12767. https://doi.org/10.1111/pim.12767
38Pavanelli MF, Colli CM, Gomes ML, Góis MB, Alcântara-Nogueira GM, Almeida-Araújo EJ, de Gonçales-Sant’Ana DM. Comparative study of effects of assemblages AII and BIV of Giardia duodenalis on mucosa and microbiota of the small intestine in mice. Biomed. Pharmacother. 2018;101:563–571. https://doi.org/doi:10.1016/j.biopha.2018.02.141
39Chen Y, et al. Pathogenesis of Giardia duodenalis infection: Trophozoites and their effects on intestinal function. J Infect Dis. 2022;225(4):607-615. https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiaa512
Downloads
Publicado
Como Citar
Edição
Seção
Licença
Copyright (c) 2025 Revista Contexto & Saúde
Este trabalho está licenciado sob uma licença Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Ao publicar na Revista Contexto & Saúde, os autores concordam com os seguintes termos:
Os trabalhos seguem a licença Creative Commons Atribuição 4.0 Internacional (CC BY 4.0), que permite:
Compartilhar — copiar e redistribuir o material em qualquer meio ou formato;
Adaptar — remixar, transformar e criar a partir do material para qualquer fim, inclusive comercial.
Essas permissões são irrevogáveis, desde que respeitados os seguintes termos:
Atribuição — os autores devem ser devidamente creditados, com link para a licença e indicação de eventuais alterações realizadas.
Sem restrições adicionais — não podem ser aplicadas condições legais ou tecnológicas que restrinjam o uso permitido pela licença.
Avisos:
A licença não se aplica a elementos em domínio público ou cobertos por exceções legais.
A licença não garante todos os direitos necessários para usos específicos (ex.: direitos de imagem, privacidade ou morais).
A revista não se responsabiliza pelas opiniões expressas nos artigos, que são de exclusiva responsabilidade dos autores. O Editor, com o apoio do Comitê Editorial, reserva-se o direito de sugerir ou solicitar modificações quando necessário.
Somente serão aceitos artigos científicos originais, com resultados de pesquisas de interesse que não tenham sido publicados nem submetidos simultaneamente a outro periódico com o mesmo objetivo.
A menção a marcas comerciais ou produtos específicos destina-se apenas à identificação, sem qualquer vínculo promocional por parte dos autores ou da revista.
Contrato de Licença (para artigos publicados a partir de setembro/2025): Os autores mantém os direitos autorais sobre seu artigo, e concedem à Revista Contexto & Saúde o direito de primeira publicação.
