In vitro anthelmintic activity of Euphorbia forskalii J. Gay aqueous extracts evaluation on different life stages of Haemonchus contortus.

The use of medicinal plants in the control of gastrointestinal parasitosis is a promising solution for improving the productivity of sheep flocks. In order to evaluate the anthelmintic activity of Euphorbia forskallii, in vitro bioassays were performed on three life stages of Haemonchus contortus. Five aqueous extracts concentrations namely 10 mg/mL; 5 mg/mL; 2.5 mg/mL; 1.25 mg/mL and 0.62 mg/mL were used for adult worm mortality tests. Egg hatch inhibition and L3 larval migration inhibition tests were studied at 5 mg/mL; 2.5 mg/mL; 1.25 mg/mL; 0.62 mg/mL and 0.31 mg/mL. A negative control PBS and a positive control levamisole 2.5 mg/mL were established for each test. A phytochemical screening was performed to determine the presence of some secondary metabolites. The results obtained showed the presence of total polyphenols, total flavonoids and condensed tannins within the aqueous extracts of E. forskalii. A high and significant (P < 0.05) morality rate compared to the negative control with an LC50 of 2.30 mg/mL was obtained. Inhibition of egg hatch and larval migration were high and significant (p < 0.05) compared to the negative control. There was an IC50 of 1.03 mg/mL and 0.92 mg/mL respectively for inhibition of egg hatching and L3 larval migration. The present study revealed the in vitro anthelmintic activity of E. forskalii aqueous extracts and allows us to consider in perspective complementary studies to confirm this activity.

Comparison of the in vitro anthelmintic effects of Acacia nilotica and Acacia raddiana.

Gastrointestinal nematodes are a major threat to small ruminant rearing in the Sahel area, where farmers traditionally use bioactive plants to control these worms, including Acacia nilotica and Acacia raddiana. The main aim of this study was to screen the potential anthelmintic properties of aqueous and acetone extracts of leaves of these two plants based on three in vitro assays: (1) the egg hatch inhibition assay (EHA); (2) the larvae exsheathment inhibition assay (LEIA) using Haemonchus contortus as a model; and (3) an adult mortality test (AMT) applied on Caenorhabditis elegans. For the EHA, only A. raddiana was effective with IC50 = 1.58 mg/mL for aqueous extract, and IC50 = 0.58 mg/mL for acetonic extract. For the LEIA, all extracts inhibited the exsheathment of larvae compared to the controls, and the aqueous extract of A. nilotica was more larvicidal with IC50 = 0.195 mg/mL. In general, all responses to the substances were dose-dependent and were significantly different from the control group (p < 0.05). For the AMT, the extracts of the two Acacia species were effective but A. raddiana showed greater efficacy with 100% mortality at 2.5 mg/mL and LC50 = 0.84 mg/mL (acetonic extract). The addition of polyvinyl polypyrrolidone (PVPP) to the extracts suggested that tannins were responsible for blocking egg eclosion and inducing adult mortality but were not responsible for exsheathment inhibition. These results suggest that the leaves of these Acacia species possess ovicidal and larvicidal activities in vitro against H. contortus, and adulticidal effects against C. elegans.