Curcuma longa essential oil found to have scolicidal effects against protoscoleces

Iranian researchers investigated the efficacy and safety of Curcuma longa (turmeric) essential oil (CLEO) against hydatid cysts protoscoleces. They reported their findings in an article published in the journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

• Hydatid cysts protoscoleces refers to a particular larval stage of the dog tapeworm, Echinococcus granulosus.
• One of the best ways to cure hydatid cysts is surgery.
• However, modern drugs used during hydatid cyst surgery have been found to cause severe complications.
• For their experiment, the researchers collected protoscoleces from fertile hydatid cysts and exposed them to different concentrations of CLEO (50 to 200 microliters (ul)/milliliter (mL)) for five to 30 minutes in vitro and ex vivo.
• They also used 48 male mice to examine the safety of various concentrations of CLEO.
• The researchers found that CLEO at 200 ul/mL completely killed all protoscoleces within five minutes.
• CLEO at a lower concentration of 100 ul/mL killed 100 percent of protoscoleces within 10 minutes.
• Other doses of CLEO, on the other hand, showed delayed activity.
• While CLEO at 50 and 100 ul/mL did not exhibit a similar effect in the ex vivo analysis, CLEO at 200 ul/mL killed approximately 100 percent of protoscoleces in hydatid cysts within five minutes.
• Meanwhile, intraperitoneal injection of CLEO at various concentrations for 14 days in male mice did not cause any toxic effects, although some blood and biochemical parameters were changed.

Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that C. longa essential oil is a promising natural scolicidal agent that can decrease the threat of protoscoleces discharge during hydatid cyst surgery.

Read the full study at this link.

Journal Reference:

Mahmoudvand H, Pakravanan M, Aflatoonian MR, Khalaf AK, Niazi M, Mirbadie SR, Kareshk AT, Khatami M. EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF CURCUMA LONGA ESSENTIAL OIL TO INACTIVATE HYDATID CYST PROTOSCOLECES. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 26 July 2019;19(1). DOI: 10.1186/s12906-019-2527-3