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Anthelmintic screening of fractions of Elephantorrhiza elephantina root extract against Haemonchus contortus

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Abstract

In the previous work conducted, it was found that the root extract of Elephantorrhiza elephantina (Bruch.) Skeels. exhibited good anthelmintic efficacy against eggs and larvae of Haemonchus contortus. This study was therefore undertaken to screen fractions of the extracts of E. elephantina for their anthelmintic activity against adult H. contortus using a bioactivity-guided assay. The adult worm bioassay was conducted using aqueous, hexane and ethyl acetate fractions of the plant extracts at concentrations of 0.312, 0.625, 1.25, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg/ml in vitro. Albendazole and distilled water were used as positive and negative control, respectively. In vitro treatment of adult worms revealed concentration and time-dependent efficacy of the fractions of E. elephantina. The aqueous and ethyl acetate fractions showed a highly significant (P < 0.05) motility inhibition at concentrations of 2.5 mg/ml and above after 6 h of exposure, while the hexane fraction showed a significant (P < 0.05) motility inhibition at concentrations of 5 mg/ml and above. After 30 h of exposure, all the fractions showed insignificant (P > 0.05) inhibition of motility. The fractions of E. elephantina also showed mortality indexes that were not significantly different to each other, as well as to the commercial drug (albendazole). Overall, the ethyl acetate and the aqueous fractions were found to possess the highest anthelmintic activity. We therefore recommend future studies to further investigate effective dosages of these fractions in vivo, as well as a full investigation into the compounds responsible for the biological activity.

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Abbreviations

GI:

Gastrointestinal

EtOAc:

Ethyl acetate

DMSO:

Dimethyl sulfoxide

CT:

Condensed tannins

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the Govan Mbeki Research and Development Centre and the National Research Foundation for the funding.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest whatsoever.

Funding source

The study was funded by the Nation Research Foundation of South Africa. The study sponsor had no involvement in any aspect of the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Livestock and Pasture Sciences, Faculty of Science and Agriculture, University of Fort Hare, P/Bag X1314, Alice, 5700, Republic of South Africa

    Viola Maphosa

  2. Agricultural and Rural Development Research Institute, University of Fort Hare, P/Bag X1314, Alice, 5700, Republic of South Africa

    Patrick J. Masika

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  1. Viola Maphosa
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Correspondence to Patrick J. Masika.

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Maphosa, V., Masika, P.J. Anthelmintic screening of fractions of Elephantorrhiza elephantina root extract against Haemonchus contortus . Trop Anim Health Prod 44, 159–163 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-011-9903-4

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