Efficacy of flaxseed oil alone or loaded on ZIF-8 nanoparticles on experimental cryptosporidiosis

Background: Cryptosporidium is one of the leading causes of waterborne diarrheal disease outbreaks globally. Although the parasite is highly prevalent, the only approved drug is nitazoxanide (NTZ), which is not effective in treating cryptosporidiosis in immunocompromised individuals with moderate effectiveness in immunocompetent individuals. Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of flaxseed oil alone or loaded on nanoparticles in Cryptosporidium-infected mice. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on 60 immunocompromised mice divided into 6 groups (10 mice each): Group 1: Non infected non treated; Group 2: Infected non treated; Group 3: Infected and given NTZ (100 mg/kg/day); Group 4: Infected and given flaxseed oil (300 mg/kg/day); Group 5: Infected and given combination of NTZ and flaxseed oil; Group 6: Infected and given flaxseed oil loaded on ZIF-8 nanoparticles. Oocyst shedding, antioxidant enzyme SOD, oxidative stress marker MDA, and intestinal histopathology were investigated. Results: Flaxseed oil decreased oocyst count in mice stool, increased SOD and decreased MDA in mice serum. It also improved intestinal inflammatory changes as a result of cryptosporidiosis. Conclusion: Adding flaxseed oil to NTZ improves the outcome of cryptosporidiosis. Moreover, ZIF-8 has proven to be a successful drug delivery method.