In vitro activity of beauvericin against all developmental stages of Sarcoptes scabiei

BackgroundScabies is a frequent cutaneous infection caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei in a large number of mammals including humans. As the resistance of S. scabiei against several chemical acaricides has been previously documented, the establishment of alternative and effective control molecules is required.\n\nObjectivesIn this study, the potential acaricidal activity of beauvericin was assessed against different life stages of S. scabiei var. suis and, in comparison with dimpylate and ivermectin, two commercially available molecules used for the treatment of S. scabiei infection in animals and/or humans.\n\nMethodsIn our in vitro model, developmental stages of S. scabiei have been placed in Petri dishes filled with Columbia agar supplemented with pig serum and different concentrations of the drugs. Moreover, the toxicity of beauvericin against cultured human fibroblast skin cells was evaluated using an MTT proliferation assay\n\nResultsBeauvericin showed higher activity against adults and eggs of S. scabiei when compared to dimpylate and ivermectin. In addition, cell sensitivity assays demonstrated low toxicity of beauvericin against primary human fibroblast skin cells.\n\nConclusionThese results revealed that the use of beauvericin is promising and might be considered for the treatment of S. scabiei infection.