Ali Farahnak - Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Leila Zaki - Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mohamad Bagher Molaei Rad - Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Abolfazl Golestani - Department of biochemistry
Mohammad Reza Eshraghiyan - Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Introduction: Hydatidosis is an endemic parasitic disease of humans in Iran, and Albendazole (ABZ) is a drug of choice for treatment of this infection. As the Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is necessary for the metabolism of parasites, this study was aimed to evaluate the effect of ABZ on ALP enzyme activity in hydatid cyst parasite as a marker for drug efficiency. Methods: In the present study, the ALP activity level was estimated in the extracts of the untreated parasite (Hydatid cyst protoscoleces) as well as the ABZ-treated samples with a final concentration of ۱۰۰ µg. The protein concentration and the protein bands in the extracted samples were analyzed by Bradford and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) methods, respectively. Results: The results showed that the mean value of the ALP activity level of the treated samples (۰.۴۷۴ U/ml/mg) was significantly higher than that of untreated samples (۰.۲۰۵ U/ml/mg) (P<۰.۰۵). SDS-PAGE analysis demonstrated the higher intensity of the ۵۹ kDa protein band in ABZ-treated samples, compared to the untreated sample. Conclusion: Considering the effect of the ABZ drug on ALP activity in the hydatid cyst protoscoleces, this enzyme might be regarded as an indicator for the effectivity of drug on this parasite.

Albendazole, Parasites, Alkaline Phosphatase, Hydatid cyst, Iran