Abstract Thecurrent workwas undertakentoinvestigate the potential effectiveness of Thymus vulgaris ethanolic extract (TVE) againstToxoplasma gondii infection in chronic experimental toxoplasmosis. To evaluate prophylactic effects, mice received 500 mg/kg TVE for 5 days before theywere infected by an avirulent Me49 T. gondii strain. To investigate the therapeutic effects of the extract postinfection, daily treatment withTVEwasinitiatedat6weekspostinfectionandcontinued for 10 days. The following groups of animals were used as controls: uninfected/non-treated, infected/non-treated, and infected/treated with a combination of pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine. Brain cyst count and histopathological changes using H&E and Feulgen stains were used to evaluate the efficacyofTVE.Themeannumberofbraincystswassignificantly decreased by 24 % in mice treated prophylactically with TVE. TVE also significantly reduced the mean number of brain cysts when administered to animals already chronically infected with T. gondii. The effect of TVE was comparable to that of treatment with a mixture of sulfadiazine and pyrimethamine (46 and 51 % reduction, respectively). Moreover, considerable amelioration of the pathological lesions in the brain andretinawasobserved.Theresultsdemonstratethepotential efficacy of T. vulgaris as a new natural therapeutic and prophylactic agent for use in the treatment of chronic toxoplasmosis.
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