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EFFECT OF BERBERINE ON GIARDIASIS

Article  in  Biochemical and Cellular Archives · June 2019

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Biochem. Cell. Arch. Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 447-450, 2019 www.connectjournals.com/bca ISSN 0972-5075

EFFECT OF BERBERINE ON GIARDIASIS

Fatima Ibrahim Mohammad1*, Doaa Abd Alabas Muhammed Ridh2 and OsamahFaisal Kokaz3
1,2
Department of Environment, College of Science, University of AL-Qadisiyah, AL-Diwaniyah, Qadisiyah, Iraq.
3
Department of Biology. College of Medicine. AL-Muthanna University, Iraq.
*e-mail : fatima.mohammad@qu.edu.iq
(Accepted 19 February 2019)

ABSTRACT : Giardia is one of a protozoal parasites that infect the upper small intestine of mammals and causes
intestinal symptoms such as abdominal pains, chronic diarrhea, malabsorption of the fats and weight loss, this parasite
spread in world wide and infect all ages especially poor communites. There are many herbs that use to treat Giardia
such as berberineis a plant alkaloid use in traditional Chinese and indigenous Indian medicine dating back at least
3,000 years, it’s produced by herbs Coptis chinensis, Berberisa quifolium, Hydrastis canadensis, Berberis aristata, Berberis
vulgaris. Berberine has proved antimicrobial activity against protozoan.
Key words : Berbine, herbs, protozoan, chronic diarrhea, weight loss.

INTRODUCTION Life cycle

Giardia lamblia was first described by Antonie Van
Leeuwenhoek in 1681 when observed this parasite in his
own of diarrheic stools (Gillin et al, 1996).
Giardiasis is one of the most common parasitic
diseases that infect of humans, it’s widely distributed
around the world in industrialized and developing
countries (Eckmann and Gillin, 2001).
Giardiais found in two forms during the life cycle:
the trophozoite and the cyst, trophozoite is the vegetative
form of Giardia that infect the gastrointestinal tract and
causemanysymptoms (Adam, 2001).
The trophozoite is pyriform shaped, the front end is
round and the background is pointed. It measures 4µm
thick and 15µm × 9µm wide, and contain one pair of
nuclei, four pairs of flagella, one pair of axostyles and
sucking disc, which helps in it’sadhesion to the mucous
layer of the intestine (Paniker, 2013). The Cyst is the
form responsible for the transmission of infection to
humans, it’s excreted with the feces from an infected host,
this disease is transmitted to humans during the ingestion
of water and food contaminated with cysts or via direct
fecal oral contact (Perez et al, 2001), the cyst is small
and oval, measuring 12µm × 8µm and surrounded by a
hyaline cyst wall, it’s contains 2 pairs of nuclei grouped
at one end, a young cyst contains 1 pair of nuclei, in the
young cyst may be seen residue the flagella and the
sucking disc (Paniker, 2013).
The infection occurs when ingestion non motile cysts
in water and food contaminated or from another person
due to lack of interest in personal hygiene, starting the
process of excystation when exposed to gastric acid in
the host’s stomach and the exit process continues until
reaching to the upper small intestine, where the cyst burst
and gives excyzoite, which is differentiated into vegetative
form and divided twice without DNA multiplication to
gives rise four trophozoites during 15 minutes each
characterized by containing two diploid nuclei (Syard et
al, 2003; Ankarklev et al, 2010). Excystation is induced
when exposed to host different factors such as high levels
of bile, low levels of cholesterol and pH when reaches to
the lower small intestine two stages can be distinguished
in the process Excystation.
In the first stage, the trophozoite round up and
encystation and become particular vesicles apparent and
proteins of the cyst wall transport to the cyst wall, the
adhesive disc is divided into four crescent structures that
are reservation in the cytoplasm and the late encystation
the nuclei divide and give four nuclei (diploid) and the
DNA is doubles more than once and each cyst contain
four nuclei. The trophozoites have a higher metabolic rate
than the cysts and the cystsmore resistant to an
environmental factors outside the host (Ankarklev, 2010).
Pathogenicity
The parasit’s pathogenicity depend on many factors
448 Fatima Ibrahim Mohammad et al
Fig. 1 : Trophozoite. A. Ventral view; B. Lateral view; C. Quadrinucleate Cyst.
such as the number of ingested cysts and host’s immune
(Meyer, 1990). The incubation period about 1-3 weeks
depending on the ingested cysts. Symptoms of the disease
appear on the infected person for at least one week and is
a foul smell stools, steatorrhea, nusea, abdominal
distension, flatulence, fatigue and weight loss (Petri, 2005;
Washington et al, 2006).
Diarrhea may persist for a long time as well as
malabsorption although some patient’s may continue to
have mild diarrhea or without symptoms especially in
endemic areas (Ankarklev et al, 2010).
Pathogenicity includes apoptosis of intestinal cells,
increased secretion of chloride ions, inhibition of brush
boarder enzymes to the intestine, loss of epithelial barrier
function and malabsorption of sodium ions, glucose and
water (Ankarklev et al, 2010). Although, most cases of
Giardia have been observed in people with disease such
as immunodeficiency, malnutrition and increase the
growth of bacteria in the small intestine, but also their
cases observed in healthy people (Smith and Walfe, 1980).
Chronic infections are common, especially in
developing countries where Giardiasis is endemic, leading
to malabsorption and retardation of mental development
in children as well as their association with intestinal
irritation diseases and arthritis (Ali and Hill, 2003; Buret,
2008).
There are very few of pathological factors in Giardia
spp. infections which included :
1. the adhesive disk in which the parasite relates to the
mucous membrane of the upper region of the host’s
intestine (Palm, 2005).
2. the four pairs of flagella help the parasite in
attachment and motion.
3. the difference of external surface proteins that give
an antigenic variation allows the parasite to escape
from the host’s immune response (Prucca and Lujan,
2009).
Berberine
Is a plant alkaloid found in many of medicinal plants,
its bright yallow coloured and is a chief alkaloid found in
stem, bark and root of berberine species (Tatyasaheb et
al, 2015) and used scince ancient times in Indian and
Chinese medicine, there is berberinein Coptischinensis,
Berberins vulgaris, Hydrastis canadensis, Berberinea
quifolium and Berberinea ristata (Langford et al, 2002).
These herbs are used in the treatment of gastrointestinal
infections, diarrhea and intestinal parasites (Holmes,
1997; Snow, 1997).
There are many of barberry species (Asia) and
goldenseal species (America) considered are the main
sources of berberine. In the territory of the former Soviet
Union, berberine was isolated of barberry species from
young spears and the rind of roots like B. heteropoda
(Yusupov et al, 1993), B. amurensis (Yusupov et al, 1993)
and B. thenbergii (Khamidov et al, 1997). In Karaganda
region, B. sibirica grow and contain 0.14% of berberine
young spears, 98% in roots noberberine present in leaves
(Karimov et al, 1993). As well as can get the berberine
from the cellular culture of plant genera like
Phellodendroma, Thalcictrum and Coptis (Smirov et al,
2000).
The extracts and salts of berberine have showen
inhibitory activity agnaisttrophozoites in vitro (Kaneda
et al, 1990), it’s also observe that berberine sulfate caused
morphological damage to trophozoites that include the
vacuoles appeared with irregular shaped, swollen
trophozoites and increased of glycogen deposits (Kaneda
 Effect of berberine on giardiasis
Fig. 2 : Life cycle of Giardia lamblia.
Fig. 3 : Berberine Structure.
et al, 1991). Berberine sulfate is caused increased growth
inhibitory activity against Entamoebah istolytica,
Trichmonas vaginalis, Leishmania donovani and Gairdia
lamblia (Kaneda et al, 1991; Ghosh et al, 1985).
Choudhry et al (1972) reported on 40 children infected
with Giardiaat ages 1-10 years who gave either B-vitamin
syrup, berberine (5mg/kg/day) or metronidazole (10mg/
kg/day). These substances were divided into three doses
for 6 days. Following B-vitamin syrup.15% they became
without symptom and 25% there is noGiardiain the stool.
48% became without symptom after taking berberine and
681 were free of Giardia when stool analysis. Giardia
did not remain in all those who gave metronidazole, but
33% of them only had symptoms infection.
In other study a total 137 children at mean age 5
years these children were given berberine (5 mg/kg/day)
449
Fig. 4 : Berberine.
or (10mg/kg/day) the doses were divided for 5 or 10 days,
then compared with 242 subjects underwent traditional
treatment, where 88 who given (20 mg/kg/day) of
metronidazole for a period 5-7 days, 90% of those giving
10mg/kg/day of berberine for 10 days observed no Gairdia
in their stool samples after 10 days and 83% remained
negative after one month, which compared with those
treated with metronidazole 90% and 95% respectively the
researcher concluded that berberine does not cause any
side effects (Gupte, 1975).
CONCLUSION
Giardiasis is one of the most common parasitic
diseases in humans, that transmitted through ingestion
food and water contaminated with cysts, this parasite
infect the gastrointestinal tract and cause many symptoms.
Herbal medicine has a major role in the influence of
Giardia infections and it’s evident in the herbs containing
of berberine that use in the treatment of this parasite and
it has an inhibitory importance to the growth of parasites
in the body and reduce the movement and impact also
 450 Fatima Ibrahim Mohammad et al
proved that berberine helps in the safe disposal of Giardia
after a short time of infection.
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