Anthelmintic
How do the anthelmintic activities of ethanolic extracts compare across different plant families?
Asteraceae
- Artemisia absinthium: Aqueous extracts showed greater anthelmintic activity compared to ethanolic extracts.
Fabaceae
- Cassia siamea: Ethyl acetate extracts of leaves and heartwood exhibited high anthelmintic effects.
- Sesbania sesban: Methanolic extract of fresh leaves reduced egg per gram (EPG) counts by 65.10% and worm counts by 56% at 30 mg/mL concentration.
Euphorbiaceae
- Acalypha wilkesiana: Methanolic extracts of leaves, stems, and roots exhibited anthelmintic activity in vitro.
Apocynaceae
- Rauwolfia vomitoria: Ethanolic extract of stem bark and roots showed high activity against cercariae and adult worms of Schistosoma mansoni.
MALVACEAE
- Malvastrum coromandelianum: Methanolic and ethyl acetate extracts of leaves demonstrated significant anthelmintic activity.
Ebenaceae
- Diospyros anisandra: Bark extract collected during the rainy season showed high anthelmintic activity, with >90% egg hatch inhibition at 75 μg/mL against multiple nematode species.
Overall, ethanolic extracts from various plant families demonstrate effective anthelmintic properties, with some families like Fabaceae and Ebenaceae showing particularly promising results. However, the efficacy can vary depending on the specific plant species, part used, and extraction method.
The anthelmintic activity of ethanolic and aqueous extracts varies among different plants, but some general trends can be observed:
- Aqueous extract showed higher anthelmintic activity compared to ethanolic extract.
- At 80 mg/ml, aqueous extract paralyzed worms in 13.0 ± 1.8 minutes and killed them in 16.8 ± 1.5 minutes.
- Ethanolic extract was less bioactive, with paralysis time of 15.7 ± 0.5 minutes and death time of 23.0 ± 0.0 minutes 1.
- Ethanolic extract was more effective against eggs, with 95.89% egg hatch inhibition at 15.6 mg/mL.
- Aqueous extract showed higher larvicidal activity, with 92.50% efficacy at 7.8 mg/mL compared to 56.94% for ethanolic extract 2.
- Moringa oleifera leaves:
- Ethanolic extract was more efficient, inhibiting 92.8% ± 6.2% of eggs at 5 mg/ml.
- Ethanolic extract induced 100% ± 0% L2 larva mortality at 5 mg/ml.
- Aqueous extracts showed lower mean mortality rates compared to ethanolic extract4.
- For aqueous extracts, the highest percentage of egg hatch inhibition was 42.77 ± 12% at 7.5 mg/mL5.
In general, ethanolic extracts often demonstrate higher anthelmintic activity compared to aqueous extracts, possibly due to better extraction of certain bioactive compounds. However, this can vary depending on the plant species and the specific anthelmintic assay used.
Specific plants where ethanolic extracts show significantly higher anthelmintic activity than aqueous extracts
- Pergularia daemia (Leaves):
- Ethanolic extract: Death time of 98.42 ± 0.57 minutes at 25 mg/mL concentration
- Aqueous extract: Death time of 109.91 ± 0.49 minutes at 25 mg/mL concentration1
- Moringa oleifera (Leaves):
- Ethanolic extract: 92.8% ± 6.2% egg inhibition at 5 mg/ml
- Ethanolic extract: 100% ± 0% L2 larva mortality at 5 mg/ml
- Aqueous extracts showed lower mean mortality rates1
- Ethanolic extract: 98.0 ± 1.66% inhibition of L1 larvae motility at 7.5 mg/mL
- Aqueous extract: 83.33 ± 1.66% inhibition of L1 larvae motility at 7.5 mg/mL4
- Leonotis nepetifolia (Leaves):
- Ethanolic extract contained significantly higher levels of saponins compared to the aqueous extract, which may contribute to greater anthelmintic activity6
It's important to note that while these plants show higher anthelmintic activity in ethanolic extracts, this trend is not universal across all plant species. Some plants, like Artemisia absinthium, demonstrate greater anthelmintic activity in aqueous extracts1.