Promising therapeutic effects of Portulaca Oleracea loaded iron oxide nanoparticles in Toxoplasma gondii infection in mice.

There are few treatment options available to treat toxoplasmosis. So, investigating possible antiparasitic agents from plants and nanoparticles that are widely available and reasonably priced might be a good substitute. This study aimed to examine the effect of Portulaca oleracea (P. oleracea) aqueous and methanolic extracts as a sole agent or loaded on iron oxide nanoparticles (FeONPs) compared to spiramycin on a murine model of Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) ME49 strain. Forty-eight Swiss albino mice were put into eight groups: GI: uninfected negative control; GII: infected, untreated positive control; GIII, GIV, GV, GVI, GVII, and GVIII: infected, treated with spiramycin (200 mg/kg), FeONPs (2.5 mg/kg), P. oleracea aqueous extract (2.5 mg/kg), P. oleracea methanolic extractt (2.5 mg/kg), P. oleracea aqueous extract loaded on FeONPs (2.5 mg/kg) and P. oleracea methanolic extract loaded on FeONPs (2.5 mg/kg) respectively. To evaluate the treatment effectiveness, parasitological counting for T. gondii cysts and histopathological assessment for brain sections using H&E were used. Also, the immunohistochemical expression of the ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 (Iba-1) was investigated. T. gondii cysts number in the infected treated mice brains was significantly reduced, with GVIII having the best therapeutic efficacy with an efficiency percentage of 84% (P > 0.000). Also, this group had a remarkable improvement in the pathological changes induced by T. gondii and the highest reduction of Iba-1 expression (P > 0.000). According to this study, P. oleracea loaded on FeONPs could be a potential therapeutic candidate for treating toxoplasmosis, and administering the medications as nanoparticles enhances their therapeutic effect.