The potent synergistic effect of Brassica oleracea against congenital Toxoplasma infection in rat model

Congenital toxoplasmosis is among the leading causes of fetus damage and abortion. Pyrimethamine + sulfadiazine is usually the chosen treatment against toxoplasmosis during pregnancy. Severe cutaneous adverse responses, teratogenicity, and changes in bilirubin metabolism are just a few examples of the pyrimethamine + sulfadiazine's toxicity. The present study aimed to assess the potent effect of a Brassica oleracea -based diet to synergistically enhance the effect of pyrimethamine + sulfadiazine in combating congenital toxoplasmosis and reduce the drug adverse effects. Broccoli ( Brassica oleracea ) was included in a standard pellet diet for the T. gondii infected pregnant rats. At the end of the experiment interleukins (IL-6, IL- 10), TNF-α, NF-κB and IFN-γ levels, biochemical analyses, parasite count and histopathological studies were assessed. A noticeable decrement was observed in the combination treated rat group (pyrimethamine + sulfadiazine and broccoli-based diet feed). Moreover, the biochemical analysis further validated the potent combined therapy effectiveness. The parasitological study revealed that the mean tachyzoites count was the lowest among pregnant rats and the offspring group after receiving the formulated combined treatment. Moreover, the histopathological studies revealed that the combined treatment had a significant synergistic effect on the tissues of spleen and liver. While the cerebral cortex of fetuses maternally fed on the broccoli-based diet showed mild symptoms of damage with normal neurons. Taken together, the broccoli-based diet enhanced the immunological, biochemical, and histological responses against toxoplasmosis and also decreased the vertical transmission of congenital toxoplasmosis.