Effectiveness of Ginsenoside Rh2 Treatment in Mice Experimentally Infected With Cryptosporidium parvum

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the therapeutic potential of Ginsenoside Rh2 in mice experimentally infected with Cryptosporidium parvum and to compare the efficacy of two Ginsenoside Rh2 dosing regimens. Animals Fifty male BALB/c mice, aged four weeks, were used. Methods Mice were immunosuppressed with dexamethasone and orally infected with 3 & times; 105 C. parvum oocysts. Animals were randomly assigned to five groups (n = 10): healthy control (HC), infected control (IC), halofuginone-treated (HAL), low-dose Ginsenoside Rh2 (GIN50) and high-dose Ginsenoside Rh2 (GIN100). Mice were treated for 5 days, and body weights and oocyst counts were recorded at several time points. On Day 18 (T18), mice were euthanized, and intestinal samples were collected for histopathology. Results The HAL, GIN50 and GIN100 groups showed significant body-weight gains, with the GIN100 group exhibiting the greatest increase from T0 to T18 (16.70 +/- 0.14 g to 24.00 +/- 0.24 g, p < 0.001). Oocyst counts decreased significantly in all treated groups over time. In the GIN100 group, oocyst counts decreased from 3.69 +/- 0.01 at T0 to 0.99 +/- 0.03 at T5 (p < 0.001), and no oocysts were detected at T18. Group-level histopathological assessment showed the least lesion severity in the HAL group, whereas GIN50 and GIN100 showed comparable mild lesion scores. Conclusion Ginsenoside Rh2, particularly at 100 mg/kg, reduced C. parvum oocyst shedding and improved body-weight recovery in experimentally infected mice. However, its comparative efficacy, safety profile and mechanism of action require further investigation before it can be considered an established alternative treatment.