OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of alcoholic extract of Allium sativum and Piper longum on the muscular activity of a parasitic amphistome, Gigantocotyle explanatum. MATERIALS AND METHODS Amphistomes were isometrically mounted to record the spontaneous muscular activity by using Chart 4 software program (Power Lab, AD Instruments, Australia) and to examine the effects of cumulative doses...

Gastrodiscoidiasis is an intestinal trematodiasis caused by the only common amphistome of man Gastrodiscoides hominis and transmitted by small freshwater snails of the species Helicorbis coenosus, belonging to the family Planorbidae. Human and animal contamination can take place when swallowing encysted metacercariae, by ingestion of vegetation (aquatic plants) or animal products, such as raw o...

Detection of antigens in faecal supernatants is a more reliable and suitable method, in cases where coprological examination fails to reveal any parasitic ova. Hundred cattle known to be infected with Gastrothylax crumenifer, the most prevalent amphistome species were selected at random for the study. An indirect ELISA was performed to detect coproantigens in faecal supernatants of these infect...

During the period between January 1999 and December 2000, the distribution and seasonal patterns of amphistome infections in cattle in the highveld and lowveld communal grazing areas of Zimbabwe were determined through monthly coprological examination. Cattle faecal samples were collected from 12 and nine dipping sites in the highveld and lowveld communal grazing areas, respectively. Patterns o...

Aim Aim of the present study was to carry out the partial purification and biochemical characterization of glutathione S-transferase (GST) from the somatic tissue of ruminal amphistome parasite, Gastrothylax crumenifer (Gc) infecting Indian water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). Materials and Methods The crude somatic homogenate of Gc was subjected to progressive ammonium sulfate precipitation foll...

The study was carried out in and around Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India to determine the prevalence of gastrointestinal (GI) parasitic infections in pig. Out of 455 faecal samples examined, 290 (63.74%) were positive for different gastrointestinal parasites. Ascaris suum was predominant (37.14%) followed by strongyle (27.47%), coccidia (22.86%), Schistosoma incognitum (19.12%), Balantidium coli...

From December 1998 to April 2000, a longitudinal study was conducted of the pooled trematode faecal egg counts of samples collected from goats of resource-poor farmers at Rust de Winter, Gauteng Province, Impendle, KwaZulu-Natal Province, and Kraaipan, North-West Province, South Africa. The amphistome faecal egg counts followed a seasonal pattem, with an increase in the counts during the warmer...

Major proportion of intracellular calcium (Ca 2+ ) is achieved through opening of calcium channels present in the plasma membrane which play an important role in regulating neuromuscular coordination and release of neurotransmitters from nerve terminals. Blockade of these calcium channels adversely affect contractile process and release of neurotransmitters in majority of the neuromuscular prep...