Taenia crassiceps: Energetic and respiratory metabolism from cysticerci exposed to praziquantel and albendazole in vitro

Praziquantel prevents glucose uptake, influencing energy metabolism, while albendazole selectively inhibits the uptake of glucose, leading to glycogen storage depletion in the parasite. The objective of this study was to determine the concentrations of glucose and organic acids related to energy and respiratory metabolisms in in vitro Taenia crassiceps cysticerci in the initial, larval and final stages exposed to sub lethal dosages of anti-helminthic drugs. Spectrophotometric and chromatographic analysis were performed to detect glucose, lactate, oxaloacetate, citrate, malate, fumarate and succinate secreted/excreted by in vitro cysticerci with 0.03 and 0.06 μg/mL of praziquantel and 0.05 and 0.075 μg/mL of albendazole. The anti-helminthic drugs decreased the excretion of lactate and induced aerobic energy pathways. Concentrations of glucose remained unaltered confirming blockage of its uptake.