Red propolis outperforms drug against schistosomiasis

05/04/2021

With information from Fapesp Agency

Red propolis for schistosomiasis

An old woman known for her bactericidal and antifungal powers, the Brazilian red propolis – the best and the richest in the world – has found another promising application.

Researchers at Universidade Guarulhos (SP) found that red propolis works as a potent antiparasitic agent, reducing the number of eggs and killing the worms that cause schistosomiasis.

In the experiments, the ingestion of 400 mg of the extract per kilogram of body weight was enough to reduce more than 60% of the parasitic load in mice infected with the worm. Schistosoma mansoni.

Action was observed in both adult and immature worms (young worms). The culture tests also showed the effects of red propolis in making mating and the production of worm eggs unfeasible.

More than that, the results obtained with red propolis indicate that the natural product may be more efficient for the treatment of the disease than the only existing drug for the treatment of schistosomiasis, praziquantel.

“Propolis, especially red, is already well known against bacteria and fungi. They have the function of protecting the hive from intruders and some of its more than 20 substances were already expected to act against parasitic infectious agents. What surprised us it was to cross the tegument of the worm and kill both adult and immature worms, something that conventional treatment of schistosomiasis does not do, “explained professor Josu de Moraes.

For red propolis to be prescribed against schistosomiasis, it will be necessary to carry out tests on humans with verminosis.