OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy of a novel compound derived from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for treatment of alveolar echinococcosis in the Kuming mouse.

METHODSThe compound was extracted from TCM by serial procedures including amalgamation of TCM drugs, boiling in a beaker, cold condensation using a reflux instrument, evaporation by mild heating and finally, formation of a deep brown powder. An animal model of alveolar echinococcosis was established concurrently. A bit of alveococcus tissue derived from alveolar echinococcosis in the mouse was transplanted into the peritoneal cavity of the musculus of a Kuming mouse. The duration of infection after inoculation was classified as either 1 week or 10 weeks; the animals were again divided into treated groups and control groups. Estimation of the alveococcus inhibitory rate and electron microscopic observation served as the main methods for assessment of efficacy. The infected mice in the treated groups were intra-gastrically administered once per day with the TCM extractive powder at doses of 20 mg.kg(-1) for three months continuously. All the animals were sacrificed and examined half a month after the end of TCM treatment.

RESULTSTotal wet weight of alveococcus collected from the 9 mice in the treated group after one week of infection was 37.8 g (x +/- s, 4.196 +/- 2.090 g), which was markedly lower than the amount collected from 10 mice of the control group (121.3 g, x +/- s, 12.1 +/- 4.3 g). Therefore, the inhibitory rate of the alveococcus was 65.7% (P < 0.01). Similarly, the total wet weight of alveococcus from 7 mice of the treated group after 10 weeks of infection was 4.3 g (x +/- s, 0.62 +/- 1.21 g), which was much lower than the amount collected from 6 mice of the control group (17.85 g, x +/- s, 2.93 +/- 3.28 g). The inhibitory rate of alveococcus was 80.6% (P < 0.01). Furthermore, the ultrastructural appearances of alveococcus showed obvious differences between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONTCM extractive powder for treatment of murine alveococcosis is considered to be a hopeful anti-echinococcus compound; it is a topic for further study.