Anthelmintic action of plant cysteine proteinases against the rodent stomach nematode,Protospirura muricola,in vitroandin vivo

Abstract

A note on versions:The version presented here may differ from the published version or from the version of record. If you wish to cite this item you are advised to consult the publisher's version. Please see the repository url above for details on accessing the published version and note that access may require a subscription. Cysteine proteinases from the fruit and latex of plants, including papaya, pineapple and fig, were previously shown to have a rapid detrimental effect, in vitro, against the rodent gastrointestinal nematodes, Heligmosomoides polygyrus (which is found in the anterior small intestine) and Trichuris muris (which resides in the caecum). Proteinases in the crude latex of papaya also showed anthelmintic efficacy against both nematodes in vivo. In this paper, we describe the in vitro and in vivo effects of these plant extracts against the rodent nematode, Protospirura muricola, which is found in the stomach. As in earlier work, all the plant cysteine proteinases examined, with the exception of actinidain from the juice of kiwi fruit, caused rapid loss of motility and digestion of the cuticle, leading to death of the nematode in vitro. In vivo, in contrast to the efficacy against H. polygyrus and T. muris, papaya latex only showed efficacy against P. muricola adult female worms when the stomach acidity had been neutralized prior to administration of papaya latex. Therefore, collectively, our studies have demonstrated that, with the appropriate formulation, plant cysteine proteinases have efficacy against nematodes residing throughout the rodent gastrointestinal tract.

Anthelmintic activity ofAcacia oxyphyllastem bark againstAscaridia galli

“…Cysteine proteinases isolated from different fruits were shown to cause wrinkles and folds of the cuticle, often followed by blistering and gradual digestion of the cuticle on different nematodes (Stepek et al, 2005(Stepek et al, , 2006(Stepek et al, , 2007. Thus, structural alterations observed on A. galli cuticle in the present study were definitely due to the anthelmintic activity of the extract of A. oxyphylla stem bark.…”

In vitroanthelmintic effects of cysteine proteinases from plants against intestinal helminths of rodents

“…This effect was similar to that described previously for A. suum (Robbins, 1930;Berger & Asenjo, 1939), H. polygyrus (Stepek et al, 2005), T. muris (Stepek et al, 2006) and P. muricola (Stepek et al, 2007a), indicating that plant cysteine proteinases have a broad spectrum of activity against parasitic helminths in vitro.…”

The anthelmintic efficacy of plant-derived cysteine proteinases against the rodent gastrointestinal nematode,Heligmosomoides polygyrus,in vivo

“…However, to our knowledge, the current study is the first (i) to establish, unequivocally, that it is upon the cysteine proteinases present in the latex that the anthelmintic efficacy of papaya latex depends, and (ii) to provide evidence that the mechanisms of action in vivo and in vitro are essentially indistinguishable. In vitro studies (Stepek et al 2005(Stepek et al , 2006(Stepek et al , 2007 have demonstrated that cysteine proteinases attack the protective cuticle of the nematode, rapidly leading to complete dissolution of the parasite, a mechanism of action that differs from all the current anthelmintic drugs (Sangster and Gill, 1999 ;Martin and Robertson, 2000). This effect was similar to that described previously for 3 other gastrointestinal nematodes, H. polygyrus (Stepek et al 2005), T. muris (Stepek et al 2006) and Ascaris suum (Robbins, 1930 ;Berger and Asenjo, 1939), indicating that plant cysteine proteinases have a broad spectrum of activity against GI nematodes in vitro.…”