Effect of a high protein diet on worm recovery, growth and distribution of Echinostoma caproni in ICR mice

Abstract

AbstractThe effects of a high protein diet on the host-parasite relationship of Echinostoma caproni in ICR mice were studied. The customized high protein diet (CHPD) contained 64% casein as a source of protein. The control diet consisted of a standard laboratory diet containing 23% casein as a source of protein. Mice were each fed 25 cysts of E. caproni by stomach tube and necropsied 2, 3, 4 and 5 weeks postinfection. The weight of mice on the CHPD did not differ significantly from mice on the control diet. Worm recoveries were also unaffected by the high protein diet. There was a significant decline in worm dry weight, body area and uterine egg counts in worms from mice on the CHPD compared with those on the control diet. Worms from hosts on the CHPD were located more posteriad in the gut than those recovered from mice on the control diet. Changes in the mouse diet adversely affected E. caproni maturation and growth, possibly by altering the immediate host mucosal environment and making it less conducive to worm development.