Trichinella spiralis is one of the most widespread zoonotic parasitic nematodes in the
world. There is an increasing interest in developing new safe and effective anthelminthic herbal
drug against T. spiralis. This study assessed the effect of curcumin (bioactive compound of
C. longa) in treatment of T. spiralis infected mice compared with albendazole. Seventy-five
albino mice were classified into four groups. GI: Non-infected control, GII: Infected nontreated
control, GIII: Treated early 3rd dpi by albendazole alone, curcumin alone, and combination
of albendazole & curcumin, and GIV: Treated on 31st dpi by the same drugs. Mice were
sacrificed on the 7th dpi for intestinal phase assessment and on the 49th dpi for muscle assessment.
Treatment efficiency was assessed by parasitological and histopathological examinations.
The results showed a significant decrease in intestinal adults'
count in all treated groups
compared to non-treated cont rolones. Reduction rates of the intestinal phase were 92.87% in
albendazole & curcumin treated group followed by 87.58% in albendazole treated group and
62.93% in curcumin treated group. There was also significant decrease in muscle larvae count
compared to positive control ones by reduction rates of 84.03%, 70.38% & 44.96% for albendazole
&curcumin, albendazole alone and curcumin alone respectively. The histopathological
results showed improvement in intestinal and muscular architecture in all treated groups
compared to positive control one, particularly in combined albendazole & curcumin treated
group.