Comparison between the effect of Lawsonia inermis and flubendazole on Strongyloides species using scanning electron microscopy

Strongyloides species is a helminth of worldwide distribution primarily in tropical and subtropical regions. It is the only soil-transmitted helminth with the ability for autoinfection so; it may lead to severe systemic manifestations especially in immunosuppressed patients. Chemotherapy is currently considered the best therapeutic option for strongyloidiasis but some drugs are expensive and others have side effects as nausea, diarrhea and headache. Strongyloides larva is resistant to most chemical agents so, search for plant extracts may provide other effective but less expensive treatment. Lawsonia inermis Linn, popularly known as Henna, has been proven to have antihelminthic, antibacterial and antifungal properties. The current study was carried out to evaluate the efficacy of Lawsonia inermis on Strongyloides spp. In vitro using scanning electron microscopy. Fifty Strongyloides species. larvae and free living females were incubated with different concentrations of Lawsonia (1, 10, 100 mg/ml), for different incubation periods (24, 48, 72 and 96 h) in comparison to the same concentrations of flubendazole at the same different time points. The results showed that Lawsonia inermis in a concentration of 10 mg/ml incubated with Strongyloides spp. female for 24 h affected the parasite cuticular surface in the form of transverse and longitudinal fissures and transverse depression in comparison to no cuticular change with flubendazole (100 mg/ml). This suggests that Lawsonia inermis may be a promising phytotherapeutic agent for strongyloidiasis.