Anthelmintic efficacy of an organic fraction from Guazuma ulmifolia leaves and evaluation of reactive oxidative stress on Haemonchus contortus.

This study describes the anthelmintic efficacy of an organic fraction (EtOAc-F) from Guazuma ulmifolia leaves and the evaluation of its reactive oxidative stress on Haemonchus contortus. The first step was to assess the anthelmintic effect of EtOAc-F at 0.0, 3.5, 7.0 and 14 mg kg of body weight (BW) in gerbil's (Meriones unguiculatus) artificially infected with H. contortus infective larvae (L3). The second step was to evaluate the preliminary toxicity after oral administration of the EtOAc-F in gerbils. Finally, the third step was to determine the relative expression of biomarkers such as glutathione (GPx), catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) against H. contortus L3 post-exposition to EtOAc-F. Additionally, the less-polar compounds of EtOAc-F were identified by gas mass spectrophotometry (GC-MS). The highest anthelmintic efficacy (97.34%) of the organic fraction was found in the gerbils treated with the 14 mg/kg of BW. Histopathological analysis did not reveal changes in tissues. The relative expression reflects overexpression of GPx (p<0.05, fold change: 14.35) and over expression of SOD (p≤0.05, fold change: 0.18) in H. contortus L3 exposed to 97.44 mg/mL of EtOAc-F compared with negative control. The GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (1), leucoanthocyanidin derivative (2), coniferyl alcohol (3), ferulic acid methyl ester acetate (4), 2,3,4-trimethoxycinnamic acid (5) and epiyangambin (6) as major compounds. According to these results, the EtOAc-F from G. ulmifolia leaves exhibit anthelmintic effect and increased the stress biomarkers on H. contortus.

In Vitro Anthelmintic Activity of a Hydroalcoholic Extract from Guazuma ulmifolia Leaves against Haemonchus contortus.

The purpose of the present study was to assess the ovicidal and larvicidal activity of a hydroalcoholic extract (HAE) and their fractions (aqueous, Aq-F and organic, EtOAc-F) from Guazuma ulmifolia leaves using Haemonchus contortus as a biological model. The egg hatching inhibition (EHI) and larval mortality against infective larvae (L3) tests were used to determine the anthelmintic effect of the treatments. The extract and fractions were tested at different concentrations against eggs and L3. Additionally, distilled water and methanol were used as negative controls and ivermectin as a positive control. The extract and fractions were subjected to HPLC analysis to identify the major compounds. The HAE displayed the highest ovicidal activity (100% EHI at 10 mg/mL). Fractionation of the HA extract allowed increasing the nematicidal effect in the EtOAc-F (100% EHI at 0.62 mg/mL and 85.35% mortality at 25 mg/mL). The phytochemical analysis of the extract and fractions revealed the presence of kaempferol, ethyl ferulate, ethyl coumarate, flavonol, luteolin, ferulic acid, luteolin rhamnoside, apigenin rutinoside, coumaric acid derivative, luteolin glucoside, and quercetin glucoside. These results suggest that G. ulmifolia leaves could be potential candidates for the control of H. contortus or other gastrointestinal parasitic nematodes.