Assessment of oxidative/nitrosative stress biomarkers and DNA damage in Haemonchus contortus, following exposure to zinc oxide nanoparticles

Drug resistance in helminth parasites has incurred several difficulties to livestock industry and ranked among the top public health concerns. Therefore, seeking for new agents to control parasites is an urgent strategy. In the recent years, metallic nanoparticles have been considerably evaluated for anthelmintic effects. The current research was conducted to assess possible anthelmintic impacts of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) on a prevalent gastrointestinal nematode, H. contortus. Moreover, several biomarkers of oxidative/nitrosative stress and DNA damage were measured. Various concentrations of the nanoparticle were prepared and incubated with the worms for 24 hours. The parasite mobility, mortality rate, antioxidant enzymes activities (SOD, Catalase and GSH-Px), lipid peroxidation, total antioxidant status as well as nitric oxide (NO) contents and DNA damage were determined. ZnO-NPs exerted significant wormicidal effects via induction of oxidative/nitrosative stress and DNA damage. Conclusively, ZnO-NPs can be utilized as a novel and potential agent to control and treatment of helminth parasitic infections.