| Summary: | Human food-borne infections with the enteropathogen <i>Campylobacter jejuni</i> are becoming increasingly prevalent worldwide. Since antibiotics are usually not indicated in campylobacteriosis, alternative treatment regimens are important. We here investigated potential disease-alleviating effects of menthol and of extracts from tormentil, raspberry leaves, and loosestrife in acute murine campylobacteriosis. Therefore, <i>C. jejuni</i>-infected microbiota-depleted IL-10<sup>−/−</sup> mice were orally treated with the compounds alone or all in combination from day 2 until day 6 post-infection. Whereas neither treatment regimen affected gastrointestinal pathogen loads, the combination of compounds alleviated <i>C. jejuni</i>-induced diarrheal symptoms in diseased mice on day 6 post-infection. Furthermore, the therapeutic application of tormentil and menthol alone and the combination of the four compounds resulted in lower colonic T cell numbers in infected mice when compared to placebo counterparts. Notably, pro-inflammatory cytokines measured in mesenteric lymph nodes taken from <i>C. jejuni</i>-infected mice following tormentil, menthol, and combination treatment did not differ from basal concentrations. However, neither treatment regimen could dampen extra-intestinal immune responses, including systemic pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion on day 6 post-infection. In conclusion, the combination of menthol and of extracts from tormentil, raspberry leaves, and loosestrife constitutes an antibiotic-independent approach to alleviate campylobacteriosis symptoms.
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