Evaluation of mono and combined nitrofurantoin therapy for toxoplasmosis in vivo using murine model.

Toxoplasmosis is a frequent disease with an estimated prevalence of more than one billion human cases worldwide and over one million new infections each year. It is classified as a neglected tropical disease by the CDC since 2019. The disease may pass unnoticed in healthy individuals but could be fatal in the immunocompromised. Moreover, no effective treatment is available against the chronic form of the disease. Available anti-Toxoplasma drugs are associated with many side effects. Therefore, search for new more reliable, more efficient, and less toxic therapeutic agents is a continuous endeavor. This study assesses the potential use of nitrofurantoin, a compound with well-established antimicrobial properties, as a potential anti-Toxoplasma drug in vivo. It compares its efficacy to the commonly used anti-Toxoplasma agent spiramycin by molecular and histopathological methods in acute and chronic infection. The results demonstrate a significant ability to eliminate the parasite (P < 0.001) whether used as mono- or combined therapy with spiramycin in the acute and chronic stages. When compared to the anti-Toxoplasma drug spiramycin, nitrofurantoin achieved similar efficacy in the acute and chronic infection (P = 0.65 and P = 0.096, respectively). However, better results were obtained when using a combination of both drugs (P < 0.001). Additionally, nitrofurantoin showed good inhibitory effects on the inflammatory process in the liver, kidney, and uterus of the experimentally infected animals. In conclusion, nitrofurantoin can be considered as a potential anti-Toxoplasma agent. Nevertheless, further studies are recommended before consideration for clinical trials.

Spectroscopic and density functional theory investigation of novel Schiff base complexes.

Novel Schiff base (H(2)L, 1,2-bis[(2-(2-mercaptophenylimino)methyl)phenoxy] ethane) derived from condensation of bisaldehyde and 2-aminothiophenol was prepared in a molar ratio 1:2. The ligand and its metal complexes are fully characterized with analytical and spectroscopic techniques. The metal complexes with Cr(III), Mn(II), Fe(III), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) and Th(IV) have been prepared and characterized by elemental analyses, IR and (1)H-NMR spectroscopy, thermal and magnetic measurements. The results suggested that the Schiff base is a bivalent anion with hexadentate OONNSS donors derived from the etheric oxygen (O, O'), azomethine nitrogen (N, N') and thiophenolic sulphur (S, S'). The formulae of the complexes were found to be [ML]·xH(2)O (M=Mn(II) (x=0), Co(II) (x=1), Ni(II), (x=1), Cu(II) (x=2) and Zn(II) (x=0)) and [ML]·nCl (M=Cr(III) (n=1), Fe(III) (n=1) and Th(IV) (n=2)). The thermogravimetric analysis of the complexes shows metal oxide remaining as the final product at 700-1000 °C. Density functional theory at the B3LYP/6-31G(*) level of theory was used to investigate molecular geometry, Mulliken atomic charges and energetics. The synclinal-conformer was found to be responsible for complex formation. The calculation showed that ligand has weak field. Structural deformation and the dihedral angles rotation during complexation were investigated. The binding energy of each complex was calculated. The calculated results are in good agreement with experimental data.