查看文章

To investigate the neurotransmitter enzyme Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in the brain and blood of rats infected with Trypanosoma congolense (T. congo).

Presence and degree of parasitemia was determined daily for each rat by the rapid matching method. AChE activity was determined by preparing a reaction mixture of brain homogenate and whole blood with 5, 5-dithiobisnitrobenzioc acid (DTNB or Ellman's reagent) and Acetylthiocholine (ATC). The increase in absorbance was recorded at 436 nm over 10 min at 2 min intervals. Trypanosome species identification (before inoculation and on day 10 post infection) was done by Polymerase chain reaction using specific primers.

The AChE activity in the brain and blood decreased significantly as compared with the uninfected control. The AChE activity dropped to 0.32 from 2.20 μmol ACTC min⁻¹mg protein⁻¹ in the brain and 4.57 to 0 …