Chemical analyses and evaluation of the anthelmintic effects of Origanum majorana essential oil, in vitro and in vivo studies

Abstract

Because of the development of resistance in helminths against major anthelmintic drugs, the search for alternatives is necessary. Medicinal plants are being studied as an alternative source of anthelmintics against gastrointestinal nematodes. The objective of this study is to analyse the chemical composition and evaluate the anthelmintic efficacy of Origanum majorana essential oil. The determination of the chemical composition by gas chromatography/mass chromatography (GC/MS) revealed that the essential oil was dominated by terpenoids, particularly carvacrol (35.65%) and terpenic hydrocarbons p-cymene (15.82%). The in vitro anthelmintic effects against Haemonchus contortus were assessed by an egg hatch assay (EHA) and an adult worm motility assay (AWMA) compared with the reference drug albendazole. The essential oil showed ovicidal activity at all the tested concentrations (1, 2, 4 and 8 mg/ml) and more than 80% egg hatching inhibition was observed at the highest dose (8 mg/ml). Exposure to 0.5 mg/ml of the essential oil for eight hours induced a 50% inhibition in the worm motility. The in vivo study was performed on H. polygyrus by measuring the egg count reduction (ECR) and adult worm count reduction (AWCR) following the treatment of the animals with different doses (2 000, 4 000 and 5 000 mg/kg) of the plant essential oil, and 22 mg/kg of albendazole as the positive control. The results showed that 5 000 mg/kg of the essential oil inhibited the egg count and adult worm count by 76.3 and 74.0%, respectively, seven days post treatment. These findings support the possible use of O. majorana essential oil to control gastrointestinal nematodes.

Chemical Composition, Enantiomeric Distribution, Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activities of Origanum majorana L. Essential Oil from Nepal

“…Chemotype-4 is dominated by linalool [59,60] and is comprised of three samples. The chemotype-5 is dominated by carvacrol, which is comprised of four samples [38,[61][62][63].…”

Evaluation of Antihelmintic Activity of Indigenous Plants Found in India Including Butea Monosperma, Origanum Majorana, Piper Longum and Embelia Ribes And GC-MS Phytochemical Analysis of Plant Extracts

“…[15][16][17][18] A recent study demonstrated significant anthelmintic activity of the leaves and stems of Origanum majorana and attributed it to the presence of p-cymene, carvacroland thymol . 19 The reference of Piper longum comes from ancient times for its medicinal and dietary uses. 20 In the present study methanolic extract of Piper longum showed better anthelmintic activity as compared to the aqueous extract.…”

The Use of Essential Oils Against Sheep Gastrointestinal Nematodes

“…Some EO compounds such as menthol are of very low acute oral toxicity (LD50 > 2000 mg/Kg) (Chagas et al 2018). Oral administration of the EO of Origanum majorana at different doses of 1000-5000 mg/Kg displayed no signs of toxicity, nor caused fatal effects in any of the treated mice during an observation period of 24 hours (Abidi et al 2020). Katiki et al (2012) concluded that Cymbopogon schoenanthus is safe for sheep at the doses of 180 mg/Kg and 360 mg/Kg, since no significant differences among group means for the hepatic (enzymes) or kidney (urea and creatinine) parameters were recorded after treatment with EO.…”