Anti-Pathogenic and Immune-Modulatory Effects of Peroral Treatment with Cardamom Essential Oil in Acute Murine Campylobacteriosis
Markus M. Heimesaat, Soraya Mousavi, Dennis Weschka, Stefan Bereswill
Abstract
Human infections with enteropathogenic Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni) including multi-drug resistant isolates are emerging worldwide. Antibiotics-independent approaches in the combat of campylobacteriosis are therefore highly desirable. Since the health-beneficial including anti-inflammatory and anti-infectious properties of cardamom have been acknowledged for long, we here addressed potential anti-pathogenic and immune-modulatory effects of this natural compound during acute campylobacteriosis. For this purpose, microbiota-depleted IL-10−/− mice were orally infected with C. jejuni strain 81–176 and subjected to cardamom essential oil (EO) via the drinking water starting on day 2 post-infection. Cardamom EO treatment resulted in lower intestinal pathogen loads and improved clinical outcome of mice as early as day 3 post-infection. Furthermore, when compared to mock controls, cardamom EO treated mice displayed less distinct macroscopic and microscopic inflammatory sequelae on day 6 post-infection that were paralleled by lower colonic numbers of macrophages, monocytes, and T cells and diminished pro-inflammatory mediator secretion not only in the intestinal tract, but also in extra-intestinal and, remarkably, systemic organs. In conclusion, our preclinical intervention study provides the first evidence that cardamom EO comprises a promising compound for the combat of acute campylobacteriosis and presumably prevention of post-infectious morbidities.