Effect of root-tuber extract of Flemingia vestita , a leguminous plant, on Artyfechinostomum sufrartyfex and Fasciolopsis buski : a scanning electron microscopy study

Abstract

The tegumental surface of Artyfechinostomum sufrartyfex as viewed under the scanning electron microscope revealed the presence of double rows of spines in the collar. The dorsal surface (6-8 rows) and the ventral surface are provided with posteriorly directed spines. The normal body surface of Fasciolopsis buski shows posteriorly directed scales throughout the ventral surface; the dorsal surface is free of any scales but has domed, coarsely distributed papillae. When treated in vitro with ethanol root-tuber extract of Flemingia vestita, an indigenous medicinal plant in Meghalaya, India, at a concentration of 5, 10, and 20 mg/ml phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), A. sufrartyfex became paralyzed within 1.1-1.4, 0.8-1.0, and 0.3-0.5 h, respectively. Following similar treatment, F. buski took 3.0-3.6, 1.5-2.0, and 0.6-0.8 h, respectively, to reach a paralytic state. Oxyclozanide B.P. was used as the reference drug and paralyzed the worm, taking slightly less time than the crude extract for both species of flukes. Stereoscanning observations on the tegumental surface of treated (20 mg extract/ml PBS) A. sufrartyfex revealed sloughing off of most of the spines or their deformation as well as wrinkles and rupture of the general tegument. Severe tegumental alterations and deformities were also displayed by F. buski exposed to 20 mg extract/ml PBS.

Ultrastructural observations on Fasciolopsis buski and its alterations caused by shoot extract of Alpinia nigra

“…Use of plants as a source of medicine has been inherited and is an important component of the health care system in rural India (Roy and Tandon, 1996;Roy et al, 2007Roy et al, , 2008. Alpinia nigra (Family: Zingiberaceae) is one such medicinal plant, in which the aqueous extract of fresh shoots is consumed against intestinal worms by the natives of Tripura state (Northeast India) residing in the remote countryside.…”

Anthelmintic efficacy of Flemingia vestita (Fabaceae): alteration in the activities of some glycolytic enzymes in the cestode, Raillietina echinobothrida

“…The alcoholic crude root-peel extract of F. vestita, which contains genistein (0.25%) as the major isoflavone compound besides formononetin, pseudobaptigenin and diadzein (Rao and Reddy 1991), has been shown to act vermifugally/vermicidally against cestodes and trematodes but not against nematodes (Roy and Tandon 1996;Tandon et al 1997). The plant-derived components were shown to induce flaccid paralysis and alterations in the tegumental architecture in the cestode of domestic fowl, Raillietina echinobothrida (Tandon et al 1997) and also altered the activities of several enzymes that are associated with the tegument, namely acid and alkaline phosphatases, adenosine triphosphatase and 5¢-nucleotidase Tandon 1998a, 1998b).…”

Antiparasitic activity of methanolic extract of Acacia oxyphylla (Leguminosae) against Raillietina echinobothrida

“…Any disruption of the tegumental architecture is likely to have serious consequences on the worm. Synthetic anthelmintics have remained the drug of choice against cestodes but considering the side-effects and resistance that the helminths build against these drugs, more attention is being given to naturally-occurring anthelmintic phytoproducts (Goto et al 1990;Roy and Tandon 1996;Tandon et al 1997;Roy and Tandon 1999;Singh and Nagaich 1999). Acacia spp.…”