The study investigated the effect of garlic (Allium sativum) and black seed (Nigella sativa) extracts
products as treatment of Cryptosporidium infection in experimental mice in comparison to
Nitazoxanide (NTZ). Forty-eight male Swiss Albino mice divided into 8 experimental conditions;
G1-8, the first seven groups received 1.5×105 Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts on 1st infection
day. The first group included mice treated with garlic juice; in G2, G4 & G5, mice were treated
with black seed oil, alcoholic extract of black seed and alcoholic extract of black ariel parts respectively.
In G3 mice were treated with garlic & black seed oil mixture, while G6 mice treated
were with Nitaxanoide. Besides G7 were infected untreated (+ ve control); and G8 were neitherinfected
nor treated (– ve control); From 2nd day post-infection, pooled fecal samples of each
group were collected daily to assess each extract efficacy as compared with NTZ and both +ve
and –ve controls by calculating oocyst excretion pattern. The comparison between number of
oocysts shedding rates among different treatment groups showed that the efficacy of NTZ was
the highest (76.1%) followed by N. sativa oil (75.8%) followed by mixture of garlic and black
seed oil (75.4%), alcoholic black seed extract (75.1%); alcoholic arial extract (74.7%) and the
lowest was garlic juice (73.1%). Although both A. sativum and all N. sativa extract products
showed a great degree of efficacy in reducing Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts excretions in the
experimental animals compared to positive control, but without significance differences between
them and preparation of both garlic, black seed and mixture with NTZ.