부산대학교 도서관

Abstract: Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease usually in adults without clinical symptoms. Toxoplasmosis is caused by Toxoplasma gondii when exposed to infected cat feces, polluted soil, and water or uncooked meat. This study aimed to use chitosan nanogel (CsNg) to load Nepeta cataria essential oils (NCEO) to improve the effectiveness of its antiparasitic properties. CsNg was prepared by sol–gel method using sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP) as a linking agent. NCEO was characterized using GC–MS analysis and structural studies of NCEO-CsNg were carried out by FTIR, SEM, and DLS techniques. After that, anti-Toxoplasma activity of NCEO-CsNg, NCEO, CsNg, and spiramycin (Spn, positive control) were examined ex vivo and in vivo on the infected Balb/c mice. According to the GC–MS profile, major bioactive compounds of NCEO were nepetalactone (64.58%), caryophyllene oxide (4.31%), 1,8-cineole (3.86%), and crypton (3.46%). SEM exhibited successful entrapment of NCEO into CsNg as the morphology and size of CsNg changed. FTIR confirmed the presence of NCEO functional groups incorporated into porous CsNg. Toxoplasma inhibition of NCEO-CsNg, NCEO, CsNg, and spiramycin occurred in 75, 40, 200, and 30 µg/ml, respectively, for 60-min in vitro exposure. In vivo challenge assay experiment showed that maximum survival time was 10 and 9 days for those infected mice treated with NCEO-CsNg and spiramycin and the least was 6 for the untreated group (negative control). The results concluded that NCEO-CsNg has potential use as an antiparasitic agent in animals and humans.