Isolation in alginate microcapsules of the pathogen Tritrichomonas foetus, to evaluate the tricomonicidal activity of plant extracts

Tritrichomonas fetus is a flagellated protozoan, agent of bovine trichomoniasis, a sexually transmitted disease. The vaccines developed against the parasite have only allowed to shorten this period of infection; that is why it is necessary to look for new therapeutic options. Alginate allows the release of living cells in an anaerobic environment and the obtaining of colonies from a single cell. Thus, they can be used directly in the laboratory as an experimental model to perform bioactivity tests on plant extracts. Therefore, our objective was to implement the encapsulation technique in pearls with alginate as a potential resource for the isolation, protection and recovery of these microorganisms. For the cell immobilization step, several solutions of sodium alginate were prepared and then T. foetus was added. These mixtures were dropped into the calcium chloride solution, thus forming the beads. Pearls with appropriate chemical and physical characteristics were obtained. The capsules were analyzed by means of the microscope, and later cultivated. By validating the results of the liberation of microorganism, was observed that the developed spheres, will be able to be used for the application of the proposal. In conclusion, this method represents a potential resource for the isolation and cultivation of the T. foetus so that it can be used as an experimental model in the laboratory, to look for new chemical compounds of pharmaceutical interest.