An in vitro nematode larval motility inhibition assay has
been developed to screen plant extracts
for anthelmintic activity against the sheep parasite
Trichostrongylus colubriformis. The
usefulness
of this assay was verified by results for extracts of the
liverwort Plagiochila stephensoniana and
the shrub Pseudowintera
colorata. The
activity of these extracts was due to 4-hydroxy-3‘-methoxybibenzyl (1) (IC50 0.13 mg/mL) and
polygodial (2) (IC50 0.07 mg/mL), respectively.
Synthetic
analogues of 1 displayed enhanced antiparasitic activity.
(Z)-4-Hydroxy-3‘-methoxystilbene (3)
had
an IC50 of 0.06 mg/mL. The activity of an extract of
the tree Phyllocladus aspeniifolius var.
alpinus
was due to the presence of polyphenolics, since treatment of the
extract with polyvinylpolypyrrolidone
or polyamide removed the activity.
Keywords: Nematodes; anthelmintics; natural products; assay; plant
extracts; Trichostrongylus
colubriformis
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