{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]],"date-time":"2026-09-01T06:36:33Z","timestamp":1788244593209,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,15]],"date-time":"2021-10-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1634256000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001711","name":"Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur F\u00f6rderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["192072"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["192072"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001711","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Drug-based treatment of alveolar echinococcosis (AE) with benzimidazoles is in most cases non-curative, thus has to be taken lifelong. Here, we report on a 56-year-old male AE patient who received standard benzimidazole treatment and biliary plastic stents, and additionally self-medicated himself with the Peruvian plant extract Maca (Lepidium meyenii). After 42 months, viable parasite tissue had disappeared. Based on this striking observation, the anti-echinococcal activity of Maca was investigated in vitro and in mice experimentally infected with Echinococcus multilocularis metacestodes. Albendazole (ABZ)-treated mice and mice treated with an ABZ+Maca combination exhibited a significantly reduced parasite burden compared to untreated or Maca-treated mice. As shown by a newly established UHPLC-MS\/MS-based measurement of ABZ-metabolites, the presence of Maca during the treatment did not alter ABZ plasma levels. In vitro assays corroborated these findings, as exposure to Maca had no notable effect on E. multilocularis metacestodes, and in cultures of germinal layer cells, possibly unspecific, cytotoxic effects of Maca were observed. However, in the combined treatments, Maca inhibited the activity of ABZ in vitro. While Maca had no direct anti-parasitic activity, it induced in vitro proliferation of murine spleen cells, suggesting that immunomodulatory properties could have contributed to the curative effect seen in the patient.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens10101335","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,17]],"date-time":"2021-10-17T23:05:47Z","timestamp":1634511947000},"page":"1335","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["Maca against Echinococcosis?\u2014A Reverse Approach from Patient to In Vitro Testing"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"10","author":[{"given":"Tanja","family":"Karpstein","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP), Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sheena","family":"Chaudhry","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP), Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Solange","family":"Bresson-Hadni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"French National Reference Center for Echinococcosis, Parasitology-Mycology Laboratory, Besan\u00e7on University Hospital, University Bourgogne Franche-Comt\u00e9, 25000 Besan\u00e7on, France"},{"name":"Gastroenterology and Hepatology Division and Division of Tropical and Humanitarian Medicine, Geneva Faculty of Medicine, Geneva University Hospital, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michael","family":"Hayoz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Chemistry & Center for Laboratory Medicine, Bern University Hospital (Inselspital), 3010 Bern, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ghalia","family":"Boubaker","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP), Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0622-2128","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrew","family":"Hemphill","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP), Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5952-7585","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Reto","family":"Rufener","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP), Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marc","family":"Kaethner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP), Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Isabelle","family":"Schindler","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Chemistry & Center for Laboratory Medicine, Bern University Hospital (Inselspital), 3010 Bern, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yolanda","family":"Aebi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Chemistry & Center for Laboratory Medicine, Bern University Hospital (Inselspital), 3010 Bern, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4015-5368","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Antonio Sa","family":"Cunha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre H\u00e9pato-Biliaire, Assistance Publique H\u00f4pitaux de Paris H\u00f4pital Paul Brousse, 94800 Villejuif, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Carlo R.","family":"Largiad\u00e8r","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Chemistry & Center for Laboratory Medicine, Bern University Hospital (Inselspital), 3010 Bern, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2672-5766","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Britta","family":"Lundstr\u00f6m-Stadelmann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP), Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"17-00161","article-title":"The Euro-Fbp workshop participants Prioritisation of Food-Borne Parasites in Europe, 2016","volume":"23","author":"Bouwknegt","year":"2018","journal-title":"Eur. 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