Immunological and histopathological study on the effect of Ginseng extract and Ampicillin on endocarditis caused by Listeria monocytogenes
Immunological and histopathological study on the effect of Ginseng extract and Ampicillin on endocarditis caused by Listeria monocytogenes
Seyed Zanyar Athari,1Zahra Karamouz,2Mir Alireza Nourazar,3Yousef Doustar,4Younes Anzabi,5,*
1. PhD Student at Medical Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Science, Tabriz, Iran. 2. Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran. 3. Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran. 4. Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran. 5. Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran.
Introduction: Endocarditis is a rare but serious infection caused by Listeria monocytogenes. Ginsan a polysaccharide extracted from Panax Ginseng demonstrated multiple immunomodulatory effects in earlier studies. Ampicillin is known as an effective antibiotic in the treatment of this disease. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Ginseng and also ampicillin on endocarditis caused by experimental infection with Listeria monocytogeneses.
Methods: For this purpose 25 mice, 5-7 weeks, were randomly divided into five groups of 5 animals each including Healthy Control group, Infected group, Ampicillin (20 mg/kg-sc) treatment group, Ginseng (0.025 mg/kg-ip) Treatment group, and Ginseng (0.025mg/kg-ip)+Ampicillin (15mg/kg-sc) treatment group. At the end of the study, the concentration of murine cytokines in serum, such as IL-1 (Interleukine-1), IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α was measured. Histopathological changes were evaluated in heart tissues.
Results: Serum levels of IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α were significantly decreased in the Ampicillin+Ginseng treated group in comparison with the other experimental groups p<0.05. Microscopically, pathologic changes in heart tissues were concomitant with biochemical findings.
Conclusion: This study showed that Ginseng hydroalcoholic extract plus Ampicillin has better efficacy than extract or antibiotic alone against experimental endocarditis caused by Listeriosis.