Intestinal Histomorphometric Alterations During Experimental Strongyloidiasis in Mice Treated with Rosmarinus officinalis Essential Oil

PURPOSE: Strongyloidiasis is an intestinal helminthiasis that can induce structural alterations in the intestinal mucosa during infection. The present study evaluated histomorphometric alterations of the small intestine in mice experimentally infected with Strongyloides venezuelensis and treated with Rosmarinus officinalis essential oil. METHODS: Infected animals were treated orally with R. officinalis essential oil (200 or 400 mg/kg), ivermectin or control treatments. Histomorphometric parameters of the small intestine were evaluated, including villus height, epithelial height, crypt depth, muscular layer thickness, brush border height and goblet cell counts. Parasitological parameters were also assessed to characterize the infection model. RESULTS: Histomorphometric analysis demonstrated that treatment with essential oil at 200 mg/kg was associated with recovery of villus and epithelial height, increased brush border and goblet cell numbers, as well as attenuation of muscular layer hypertrophy, suggesting preservation of mucosal structure during infection. The 400 mg/kg dose, although associated with greater reduction in parasite burden, was accompanied by increased crypt depth, indicating more intense proliferative remodeling of the intestinal mucosa. Ivermectin promoted the greatest reduction in parasite burden with marked elimination of eggs and females. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that R. officinalis essential oil modulates intestinal mucosal architecture during experimental strongyloidiasis and highlight its potential influence on host intestinal responses during infection.