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In vitro antiparasitic activity of ethanolic leaves extract of Anethum graveolens

[Atividade antiparasitária in vitro do extrato etanólico das folhas de Anethum graveolens]

ABSTRACT

Natural products are safe environmentally friendly agents and have no negative impact on the environment, they can be used to combat parasitic diseases. Helminthiasis and coccidiosis are parasitic diseases that harm both health and the economy. This research aimed to see how Anethum graveolens leaves extract (AGLE) worked as an anti-parasitic modulator during oocyst sporulation of an Eimeria papillata infection. FT-IR phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of eight compounds. The time required to induce paralysis and death in worms at the highest concentration (200 mg/mL) was 4.57±0.26 and 5.22±0.10 min, respectively. In an in vitro study, AGLE (300 mg/ml) inhibited sporulation by approximately 100% after 72 and 96 hr. AGLE (200, 100, and 50 mg/ml), amprolium, DettolTM, and phenol induced variable inhibition levels at 96 hr of 5.54%, 1.01%, 37.33%, 81.33%, and 89.33%, respectively. Our findings suggest that AGLE has potent anthelmintic and anticoccidial properties that could be further developed into a novel therapeutic agent.

Keywords:
Eimeriosis; parasite resistance; herbal plants

RESUMO

Os produtos naturais são agentes ecologicamente corretos, seguros e não têm impacto negativo sobre o meio ambiente, podendo ser usados para combater doenças parasitárias. A helmintíase e a coccidiose são doenças parasitárias que prejudicam a saúde e a economia. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi verificar como o extrato das folhas de Anethum graveolens (AGLE) funcionou como modulador antiparasitário durante a esporulação de oocistos de uma infecção por Eimeria papillata. A análise fitoquímica FT-IR revelou a presença de oito compostos. O tempo necessário para induzir a paralisia e a morte dos vermes na concentração mais alta (200mg/mL) foi de 4,57±0,26 e 5,22±0,10 minutos, respectivamente. Em um estudo in vitro, o AGLE (300 mg/ml) inibiu a esporulação em aproximadamente 100% após 72 e 96 horas. O AGLE (200, 100 e 50 mg/ml), o amprólio, o DettolTM e o fenol induziram níveis de inibição variáveis de 5,54%, 1,01%, 37,33%, 81,33% e 89,33%, respectivamente, após 96 horas. Nossos resultados sugerem que o AGLE tem propriedades anti-helmínticas e anticoccidianas potentes que poderiam ser desenvolvidas em um novo agente terapêutico.

Palavras-chave:
eimeriose; resistência do parasita; plantas herbáceas

INTRODUCTION

Protozoa of the phylum Apicomplexa, such as Toxoplasma, Plasmodium, and Eimeria, are of great medical and veterinary importance as pathogens that cause various human and veterinary diseases worldwide (Habib et al., 2016HABIB, S.; VAISHYA, S.; GUPTA, K. Translation in organelles of apicomplexan parasites. Trends Parasitol., v.32, p.939-952, 2016.; Maier et al., 2019MAIER, A.G.; MATUSCHEWSKI, K.; ZHANG, M.; RUG, M. Plasmodium falciparum. Trends Parasitol., v.35, p.481-482, 2019.). One of the most important parasite diseases affecting animals is coccidiosis (Abdel-Gaber et al., 2023). It is caused by members of the Eimeria genus and has been reported in a variety of species, including chickens, ducks, puppies, rabbits, piglets, dogs, horses, kittens, and birds (Stock et al., 2018STOCK, M.L.; ELAZAB, S.T.; HSU, W.H. Review of triazine antiprotozoal drugs used in veterinary medicine. J. Vet. Pharmacol. Ther., v.41, p.184-194, 2018.).

This disease causes significant economic losses worldwide (Chapman, 2014CHAPMAN, H. Milestones in avian coccidiosis research: a review. Poult. Sci., v.93, p.501-511, 2014.). It has an asexual and sexual reproduction cycle, and it produces resistant parasite stages known as oocysts that are released into the environment, facilitating the spread of infection. Because of their resistance to environmental factors, controlling Eimeria oocysts is difficult (Graat et al., 1994GRAAT, E.; HENKEN, A.; PLOEGER, H.; NOORDHUIZEN, J.; VERTOMMEN, M. Rate and course of sporulation of oocysts of Eimeria acervulina under different environmental conditions. Parasitology, v.108, p.497-502, 1994.). Eimeria tenella is one of the most common and dangerous pathogens in the genus Eimeria. These parasitic infections cause animals' nutrient uptake to be disrupted, resulting in decreased body weight and increased susceptibility to secondary infections (López-Osorio et al., 2020).

Conventional methods for preventing and controlling coccidiosis include anti-coccidian drugs and live vaccines; however, these measures raise concerns about drug resistance, food security, production costs, and species cross-protection (Chapman, 1997CHAPMAN, H.D. Biochemical, genetic and applied aspects of drug resistance in Eimeria parasites of the fowl. Avian Pathol., v.26, p.221-244, 1997.; Sharman et al., 2010SHARMAN, P.A.; SMITH, N.C.; WALLACH, M.G.; KATRIB, M. Chasing the golden egg: vaccination against poultry coccidiosis. Parasite Immunol., v.32, p.590-598, 2010.). Therefore, there is an urgent need to seek new ideas and perspectives on coccidiosis prevention and control.

Many plant-derived drugs, such as herbal extracts, have anticoccidial effects (Nweze and Obiwulu, 2009NWEZE, N.E.; OBIWULU, I.S. Anticoccidial effects of Ageratum conyzoides. J. Ethnopharmacol., v.122, p.6-9, 2009.; Youn and Noh, 2011YOUN, H.J.; NOH, J.W. Screening of the anticoccidial effects of herb extracts against Eimeria tenella. Vet. Parasitol., v.96, p.257-263, 2011.). Anticoccidial herbal medicines typically have fewer drug residues and less drug resistance than chemotherapeutic drugs (Quiroz-Castaneda and Dantan-Gonzáles, 2015). As a result, plant-derived compounds have been developed as an alternative approach to parasitic infection control (Klimpel et al., 2011KLIMPEL, S.; ABDEL-GHAFFAR, F.; AL-RASHEID, K.A.S. et al. The effects of different plant extracts on nematodes. Parasitol. Res., v.108, p.1047-1054, 2011.; Amer et al., 2015AMER, O.S.O.; DKHIL, M.A.; HIKAL, W.M.; AL-QURAISHY, S. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of pomegranate (Punica granatum) on Eimeria papillata-induced infection in mice. BioMed. Res. Int., v.2015, p.219670, 2015.; Elkhadragy et al., 2022ELKHADRAGY, M.F.; AL AQEEL, N.S.M.; YEHIA, H.M.; ABDEL-GABER, R.; HAMED, S.S. Histological and molecular characterization of the protective effect of Eugenia caryophyllata against renal toxicity induced by vitamin D in male wistar rats. Food Sci. Technol., v.42, p.e97522, 2022.; Al-Otaibi et al., 2023) where, these products have organ-protective properties in Eimeria-infected hosts and target parasites (Wunderlich et al., 2014WUNDERLICH, F.; AL-QURAISHY, S.; STEINBRENNER, H.; SIES, H.; DKHIL, M.A. Towards identifying novel anti-Eimeria agents: Trace elements, vitamins, and plant-based natural products. Parasitol. Res., v.113, p.3547-3556, 2014.).

Anethum graveolens (Dill), belonging to the family Apiaceae, is an aromatic plant native to the Mediterranean region that has been widely used as a seasoning in the preparation of various foods (Slupski et al., 2005SLUPSKI, J.; LISIEWSKA, Z.; KMIECIK, W. Contents of macro and microelements in fresh and frozen dill (Anethum graveolens L.). Food Chem., v.91, p.737-743, 2005.). It is rich in flavonoids, polyphenols, essential minerals, antioxidants, and vital vitamins like riboflavin, folic acid, vitamin A, niacin, vitamin C, and b-carotene (Jana and Shekhawat, 2010JANA, S.; SHEKHAWAT, G. Anethum graveolens: an Indian traditional medicinal herb and spice. Pharmacogn. Rev., v.4, p.179, 2010.). Numerous studies have demonstrated that A. graveolens acts against fungi (Kumarasingha et al., 2016KUMARASINGHA, R.; PRESTON, S.; YEO, T.C. et al. Anthelmintic activity of selected ethno-medicinal plant extracts on parasitic stages of Haemonchus contortus. Parasites Vectors, v.9, p.187-193, 2016.; Vieira et al., 2019VIEIRA, J.N.; GONÇALVES, C.L.; VILLARREAL, J.P.V. et al. Chemical composition of essential oils from the apiaceae family, cytotoxicity, and their antifungal activity in vitro against Candida species from oral cavity. Braz. J. Biol., v.79, p.432-437, 2019.), bacteria (Kaur and Arora, 2009KAUR, G.J., ARORA, D.S. Antibacterial and phytochemical screening of Anethum graveolens, Foeniculum vulgare and Trachyspermum ammi. BMC Compl. Alternat. Med., v.9, p.30, 2009.), and protozoa (Sahib et al., 2014SAHIB, A.S.; MOHAMMED, I.H.; SLOO, S.A. Antigiardial effect of Anethum graveolens aqueous extract in children. J. Intercult. Ethnopharmacol., v.3, p.109-112, 2014.). It has also been utilized in traditional herbal medicine as a diuretic effector and as a treatment for the gastrointestinal disorders (Hosseinzadeh et al., 2002HOSSEINZADEH, H.; KARIMI, G.; AMERI, M. Effects of Anethum graveolens L. seed extracts on experimental gastric irritation models in mice. BMC Pharmacol., v.2, p.21, 2002.).

Given these benefits, the present investigation aimed to evaluate the possible anticoccidial activity of A. graveolens leaves extract against Eimeria papillata as well as in vitro anthelmintic activity.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Anethum graveolens leaves were collected from the botanical gardens in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A taxonomist from the Botany Department (King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) identified and confirmed the plant material. The ethanolic extract of 70% of A. graveolens leaves (AGLE) was prepared using the method described by Manikandan et al. (2008MANIKANDAN, P.; VIDJAYA LETCHOUMY, P.; PRATHIBA, D.; NAGINI S. Combinatorial chemopreventive effect of Azadirachta indica and Ocimum sanctum on oxidant-antioxidant status, cell proliferation, apoptosis and angiogenesis in a rat forestomach carcinogenesis model. Singapore Med. J., v.49p.814-22, 2008.), with some modifications as follows: air-dried leaves of A. graveolens were ground into a powder with an electric blender (Senses, MG-503T, Korea). Dried powder (100 g) of A. graveolens leaves was macerated in 70% ethanol for 24 hr at 4 ºC, followed by percolation 5-7 times until complete extraction. Following filtration, ethanol was isolated from extract using a vacuum evaporator at 50 ºC under reduced pressure. The crude extract was lyophilized and stored at -20 ºC until further use.

Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) NICOLET 6700 (Thermo Scientific, Waltham, USA) was used for the analysis of the plant extract through the KBr pellet method with a range of 4000 cm−1 to 400 cm−1, following Al-Quraishy et al. (2020).

The phenolic contents of AGLE were determined according to Singleton et al. (1999SINGLETON, V.L.; ORTHOFER, R.; LAMUELA-RAVEBTÓS, R.M. (1999) Analysis of total phenols and other oxidation substrates and antioxidants by means of folin-ciocalteu reagent. Methods Enzymol., v.299, p.152-178, 1999.), with some modifications. Briefly, 0.1 mL of Folin-Ciocalteu reagent, 1.5 mL of ultrapure water (Milli-Q), and 0.1 mL of AGLE (1 mg/mL) or gallic acid were mixed and left for 8 min, then, 0.3 mL of sodium carbonate solution (20%) was added and mixed by a vortex. In darkness for 2 hr, the mixture was incubated. A UV-visible spectrophotometer was used to measure the absorbance of the ensuing blue color at 765 nm. Using the equation based on the calibration curve (y = 0.005 − x − 0.0088), the total phenolic content of the extracts was calculated as gallic acid equivalent (mg/g DW), where (y) absorbance and (x) gallic acid equivalent concentration (mg/g).

The total flavonoids in AGLE were determined using the method of Ordonez et al. (2006ORDONEZ, A.A.L.; GOMEZ, J.D.; VATTUONE, M.A.; LSLA, M.I. Antioxidant activities of Sechium edule (Jacq.) Swartz extracts. Food Chem., v.97, p.452-458, 2006.). Briefly, 1.0 mL of 2% AlCl3 water solution was mixed with 1.0 ml of AGLE (1 mg/ml). At 420 nm, absorbance was measured following an hour of incubation at room temperature. A quercetin solution (50-800 g/ml) was used to prepare the standard solution and create a standard curve (R2 = 0.9996). Using the calibration curve equation (y = 0.0011x + 0.0928), where (y) is the absorbance and (x) is the quercetin equivalent concentration (mg/g), the flavonoids in the extracts were expressed as quercetin (mg/g DW).

The antioxidant activities of AGLE were determined by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay (Liyana-Pathirana et al., 2005). Briefly, 1 ml of the extract was mixed with 1 ml of 0.135 mM DPPH at various concentrations (31.25-1000 g/ml). The mixture was held at room temperature in the dark for 40 min while being gently stirred. The absorbance of the samples and the control solutions (Ascorbic acid as positive control) was measured at 517 nm, and the percentage of DPPH scavenging activity of the extracts was calculated using the following equation:

D P P H s c a v e n g i n g a c t i v i t y ( % ) = ( A b s c o n t r o l A b s s a m p l e ) ( A b s c o n t r o l ) × 100

where:

Absorbance of DPPH + methanol (Abs control)

Absorbance of the DPPH radical + sample (Abs sample)

A total of 25 earthworms, Eisenia fetida, were collected from agricultural lands and identified by a specialist in the College of Food and Agriculture Sciences (King Saud University). This study was conducted using three doses of AGLE (50, 100, and 200 mg/ml) against the earthworm by following method of Ajaiyeoba et al. (2001AJAIYEOBA, E.O., ONOCHA, P.A., OLARENWAJU, O.T. In vitro anthelmintic properties of Buchholzia coriaceae and Gynandropsis gynandra extracts. Pharm. Biol., v.39, p.217-220, 2001.). Five worms of roughly the same size were used per dose. As a control, worms in distilled water were used. The reference drug was mebendazole (10 mg/ml). The time it took to reach paralysis and death was measured in minutes (Dkhil, 2013DKHIL, M.A. Anti-coccidial, anthelmintic and antioxidant activities of pomegranate (Punica granatum) peel extract. Parasitol. Res., v.112, p.2639-2646, 2013.). Before beginning the experiment, all the extracts and drug solutions were freshly prepared.

Small pieces of the earthworm body were removed and fixed in formalin (10%). Following fixation, specimens were dehydrated, embedded in wax, and then sectioned to 5 𝜇m thicknesses. For histological examinations, sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (Drury and Wallington, 1978Drury, R.A.B., Wallington, E.A. (1978) Calton’s histological technique. 5th ed. Oxford University Press, London, pp. 98.). Sections were examined and photographed using a digital camera (DP 73) fitted on an Olympus B×61 microscope (Tokyo, Japan).

Five Swiss albino male mice were inoculated with 1×103 sporulated Eimeria papillata oocysts via oral gavage. On the fifth day of infection, feces were collected, and oocysts were separated by floatation technique and then used for in vitro study. The unsporulated oocysts (1×105) were incubated at 25-29 ºC for 72 and 96 hs in 5 mL 2.5% potassium dichromate solution K2Cr2O7 (positive control), 5 ml distilled H2O (negative control) and finally in 5 ml K2Cr2O7 containing one of the following: AGLE (300, 200, 100, and 50 mg/ml), 109 μl DettolTM, 8.3 mg amprolium (Veterinary Agriculture Products Company [VAPCO], Jordan), 5% formalin and 25 μl phenol. The oocysts' sporulation was monitored by examining sporocysts under an Olympus compound microscope (Olympus Co., Tokyo, Japan). According to Thagfan et al. (2020THAGFAN, F.A.; AL-MEGRIN, W.A.; AL-QURAISHY, S.; DKHIL, M.A.M. Mulberry extract as an ecofriendly anticoccidial agent: in vitro and in vivo application. Rev. Bras. Parasitol. Vet., v.29, p.e009820, 2020.), a total of 100 oocysts were counted in each control and treatment group to estimate the sporulation and inhibition (%) of E. papillata oocysts.

Data analysis was performed using SigmaPlot® version 11.0 (Systat Software, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) and presented as mean ± SD with p-value ≤ 0.05.

RESULTS

The FT-IR evaluation indicated the presence of 8 expected compounds in AGLE. Some of these compounds have strong appearances including groups with N-O, S=O, C-O, and C-I stretching (Table 1, Figure 1). These expected compounds included nitro compound, sulfonyl chloride, primary alcohol, and halo compound.

Phenolic and flavonoid contents of AGLE were presented in Figure (2). From this Table, it appears that the concentration of phenolic compounds in the ethanolic extract (1mg/mL) was (32±0.7). while the lowest concentration of flavonoid content was observed in the extract of 23±0.1.

Table (2) showed that the ethanolic extracts had the highest DPPH (65.4±0.9) at the concentration of 1000 μg/mL, while the lowest scavenging percentage (0) was at the concentration of 31.25μg/mL. The ethanolic extracts presented DPPH in a concentration-dependent manner, where the concentrations of the ethanolic extract exhibited good antioxidant properties.

The AGLE had anthelmintic activity against live adult E. fetida worms that was comparable to the conventional anthelmintic agent (mebendazole). Table (3) showed that time to paralysis and death were 4.57±0.26 min and 5.22±0.10 min, respectively, for the most effective dose of 200mg/mL. However, compared to the other AGLE concentrations the reference drug mebendazole (10mg/mL) had a lesser effect (Table 3). After receiving AGLE, the cuticle thickness and length of the segment for E. fetida was significantly reduced compared to the typical structure for those in water, and upmost layer was destructed in the treated group with mebendazole (Figure 3).

Incubation with AGLE (300 mg/mL) and formalin at 72 and 96 hr inhibited oocysts sporulation by 100% (Table 4). Incubation with AGLE (200 mg/ml), at 72 and 96 hr, inhibited sporulation of E. papillata oocysts by 97.52% and 97.09% respectively. At 96 hr, AGLE (100 and 50 mg/mL), amprolium, DettolTM, and phenol induced variable inhibition levels of 5.54%, 1.01%, 37.33%, 81.33%, and 89.33%, respectively (Table 4).

Figure 1
FT-IR of Anethum graveolens leaves extract in ethanolic medium showing the functional characteristic of the material.

Table 1
FT-IR for Anethum graveolens leaves extract

Figure 2
Total polyphenols, flavonoids of the ethanolic extract of Anethum graveolens leaves extract.

Table 2
Radical scavenging activity (%) of leaves extract for the Anethum graveolens plant
Table 3
In vitro anthelmintic activity of TPLE

Figure 3
Cuticle thickness of E. fetida with various treatments. (A) worms in dist. H2O (control). (B) worms in AGLE (200 mg/mL). (C) worms in mebendazole. Scale bar = 25µm.

Table 4
In vitro, anti-coccidial effects of Anethum graveolent leaves extract on the sporulation percentage of Eimeria papillata oocysts

DISCUSSION

Coccidial and helminth infections constitute public health concerns worldwide. Plant extracts used as mendicants may help to overcome these obstacles. Also, plants have proven to be a promising alternative for controlling small ruminant nematodes. In addition to anthelmintic activity, it reduces the risk of chemical residues in animal products and the environment (Chagas et al., 2008CHAGAS, A.C.S.; VIEIRA, L.S.; FREITAS, A.R. et al. Anthelmintic efficacy of neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) and the homeopathic product Fator Vermes in Morada Nova sheep. Vet. Parasitol., v.151, p.68-73, 2008.). Carvone and limonene are the main chemical components of A. graveolens (Jana and Shekhawat, 2010JANA, S.; SHEKHAWAT, G. Anethum graveolens: an Indian traditional medicinal herb and spice. Pharmacogn. Rev., v.4, p.179, 2010.).

The presence of the main chemical components may be responsible for these activities. Meanwhile, other researchers have reported that carvone and limonene have antimicrobial properties (Palmeira et al., 2009PALMEIRA, A.; SALGUEIRO, L.; PALMEIRA-DE-OLIVEIRA, R. Anti-Candida activity of essential oils. Mini Rev. Med. Chem., v.9, p.1292-1305, 2009.). Limonene is found as anthelmintic activity in oils from different plants, such as Cymbopogon martini, Lippia sidoides, Eucalyptus staigeriana, and Mentha piperita (Katiki et al., 2011KATIKI, L.M.; CHAGAS, A.C.S.; BIZZO, H.R.; FERREIRA, J.F.S.; AMARANTE, A.F.T.D. Anthelmintic activity of Cymbopogon martinii, Cymbopogon schoenanthus and Mentha piperita essential oils evaluated in four different in vitro tests. Vet. Parasitol., v.183, p.103-108, 2011.; Carvalho et al., 2012CARVALHO, C.O.; CHAGAS, A.C.S.; COTINGUIBA, F. et al. The anthelmintic effect of plant extracts on Haemonchus contortus and Strongyloides venezuelensis. Vet. Parasitol., v.183, p.260-268, 2012.; Ribeiro et al., 2013RIBEIRO, W.L.C; MACEDO, I.T.F.; SANTOS, J.M.L. et al. Activity of chitosan-encapsulated Eucalyptus staigeriana essential oil on Haemonchus contortus. Exp. Parasitol., v.135, p.24-29, 2013.). In the current in vitro study, a concentration of AGLE of 200 mg/ml generated significant anthelmintic activity comparable to the conventional anthelmintic agent, mebendazole. Many studies used earth worms as the model for the anthelmintic activity evaluation due to the physiological similarities between the E. fetida worms and some intestinal round worms that infect people (Abu Hawsah et al., 2023). The carvone and limonene found in AGLE may be the main components of the anthelmintic action observed in this study. Stepek et al. (2005STEPEK, G.; BUTTLE, D.J.; DUCE, I.R.; LOWE, A., BEHNKE, J.M. Assessment of the anthelmintic effect of natural plant cysteine proteinases against the gastrointestinal nematode, Heligmosomoides polygyrus, in vitro. Parasitology, v.130, p.203-211, 2005.) and Fan et al. (2023FAN, Y.; PEI, Y.; CHEN, J.; ZHA, X.; WU, Y. Structural characterization and stability of microencapsulated flavonoids from Lycium barbarum L. leaves. Food Sci. Technol., v.43, p.e100922, 2023.) demonstrated that flavonoid inhibits glycolysis enzymes, disrupts calcium homeostasis, and causes death of the parasite. Parasites cuticle are considered as the target region by which anthelmintic agents interact. In this study, the cuticular surface of the worms treated with AGLE showed a significant shrinking. This agreed with Abu Hawash et al. (2023) who described how anthelmintic treatments caused modifications to the worms' body surfaces and might result in paralysis and death of the worm.

Flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, and phenolic compounds are the most important plant bioactive compounds (Mehmood et al., 2015MEHMOOD, B.; DAR, K.K.; ALI, S. et al. In vitro assessment of antioxidant, antibacterial and phytochemical analysis of peel of Citrus sinensis. Pak. J. Pharmaceut. Sci., v.28, p.238-239, 2015.). Several studies have shown that plant extracts containing phenolic compounds have inhibitory properties. Natural polyphenolic components derived from medicinal plants have been shown to inhibit E. tenella sporozoite cell invasion in vitro (Arlette et al., 2019ARLETTE, N.T.; NADIA, N.A.C.; JEANETTE, Y. et al. The in vitro anticoccidial activity of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Ageratum conyzoide sand Vernonia amygdalina (Asteraceae). World J. Pharm. Pharmaceut. Sci., v.8, p.38-49, 2019.). These researchers also noted that extracts with polyphenolic compounds may have the power to inhibit the enzymes necessary for the coccidian oocysts' sporulation process. It is thus possible that A. graveolens extract components exhibited anti-sporulation activity by interfering with the physiological processes necessary for sporulation, thereby inhibiting or inactivating the enzymes responsible for the sporulation process. The finding is supported by a study that linked Moringa oleifera's anticoccidial activity to its biological constituents, which include flavonoids and phenolic compounds with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties (Gadelhaq et al., 2018GADELHAQ, S.M.; ARAFA, W.M.; ABOLHADID, S.M. In vitro activity of natural and chemical products on sporulation of Eimeria species oocysts of chickens. Vet. Parasitol., v.251, p.12-16, 2018.).

The results of this experiment demonstrated that AGLE has an in vitro anticoccidial effect on unsporulated oocysts of E. papillata in a concentration-dependent manner. This is consistent with the findings of Cedric et al. (2018CEDRIC, Y.; PAYNE, V.K.; NADIA, N.A. C. et al. In vitro antioxidant and anticoccidial studies of Pentaclethra macrophylla extracts against Eimeria magna, Eimeria flavescens, Eimeria intestinalis, Eimeria stiedae oocysts and sporozoites of rabbits. J. Adv. Parasitol., v.5, p.38-48, 2018.), who reported the anticoccidial, antioxidant, and cytotoxicity activity of Psidium guajava extracts against four different species of Eimeria in a concentration-dependent manner. The effect of antioxidants on DPPH radicals is thought to be due to their ability to donate hydrogen. As a result, DPPH is commonly used as a substrate to assess antioxidant agents' antioxidative or free radical scavenging activity. Mustafa et al. (2010MUSTAFA, R.A.; ABDUL HAMID, A.; MOHAMED, S.; BAKAR, F.A. Total phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and radical scavenging activity of 21 selected tropical plants. J. Food Sci., v.75, p.C28-C35, 2010.) confirmed phenolic compounds' antioxidant role by referring to their redox properties, which are considered free radical scavengers. It is also shown that the commonly used disinfectant formalin (5%) is the most effective in inhibiting E. papillata oocyst sporulation, which agrees with Thagfan et al (2020THAGFAN, F.A.; AL-MEGRIN, W.A.; AL-QURAISHY, S.; DKHIL, M.A.M. Mulberry extract as an ecofriendly anticoccidial agent: in vitro and in vivo application. Rev. Bras. Parasitol. Vet., v.29, p.e009820, 2020.). According to Mai et al. (2009MAI, K.; SHARMAN, A.P.; WALKER, A.R. et al. Oocyst wall formation and composition in coccidian parasites. Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz, v.104, p.281-289, 2009.) and Gadelhaq et al. (2018GADELHAQ, S.M.; ARAFA, W.M.; ABOLHADID, S.M. In vitro activity of natural and chemical products on sporulation of Eimeria species oocysts of chickens. Vet. Parasitol., v.251, p.12-16, 2018.) Phenol and DettolTM have been reported to inhibit sporulation by 89.33% and 81.33% respectively, and the oocyst wall is resistant to proteolysis and impermeable to water-soluble substances.

CONCLUSION

It could be concluded that AGLE has anticoccidial and anthelmintic efficacy, in vitro. Further studies are recommended to include the in vivo effectiveness of AGLE and identify the pathway of its active compounds on parasite and host response.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This study was supported by the Researchers Supporting Project (RSP2023R3), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

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Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    18 Sept 2023
  • Date of issue
    Sep-Oct 2023

History

  • Received
    24 Mar 2023
  • Accepted
    19 Apr 2023
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Escola de Veterinária Caixa Postal 567, 30123-970 Belo Horizonte MG - Brazil, Tel.: (55 31) 3409-2041, Tel.: (55 31) 3409-2042 - Belo Horizonte - MG - Brazil
E-mail: abmvz.artigo@gmail.com