Efficacy and safety of ethanolic Curcuma longa extract as a treatment for sand tampan ticks in a rabbit model

Abstract

<jats:p>Background and Aim: The soft tick Ornithodoros savignyi is distributed throughout Africa, including Egypt. It primarily attacks camels, cattle, donkeys, and cows; and rarely affects humans. This study evaluated the acaricidal efficacy of ethanolic Curcuma longa extract (Turmeric) on the second nymphs of O. savignyi and then investigated the safety of this herb in rabbits. Materials and Methods: The nymphs were immersed in 10, 5, 2.5, 1.25, and 0.625 mg/ml ethanolic C. longa extract. An additional group was immersed in ethanol as a control. On the 1st, 7th, and 15th-day post-treatment, the mortality percentages, LC50 and LC95 were calculated. The ticks exposed to 10 mg/ml ethanol C. longa extract were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Three male New Zealand White rabbits were orally administered 2 ml (two doses) of 10 mg/ml ethanolic C. longa extract, and another three rabbits were orally given two doses of 2 ml of absolute ethanol as a negative control. Histopathological examination of the kidney and liver hematology and the kidney and liver function was performed. Chemical analysis of the extract was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Results: The LC50 and LC95 were 1.31 and 15.07, 1.07 and 8.56, and 0.81 and 6.97 mg/ml on the 1st, 7th, and 15th day, respectively. SEM revealed that mamillae and spots on the surfaces of the treated ticks were not discriminating except for some clefts on the surfaces. The histological examination, blood profile, and biochemical analyses revealed no significant differences between the treated and untreated rabbits (p&gt;0.05). GC/MS analysis revealed 50 compounds, and curcumene and t umerone were found to be the major constituents of this ethanolic extract. Conclusion: The ethanolic C. longa extract produced a strong acaricidal effect on the second nymph of O. savignyi, and it was safe to use in rabbits.</jats:p>

Toxicidad dérmica y oftálmica del extracto hidroalcohólico de Curcuma longa, Linn (Curcuvet)

“…La alta movilidad de sustancias orgánicas desde el material vegetal no solo repercute en el rendimiento y la velocidad de extracción, sino, además, sobre la variedad de compuestos químicos presentes en el extracto con numerosas actividades biológicas, incluidas las toxicológicas [35], [36], [37]. Desde esta perspectiva, es probable que la formulación Curcuvet, igual que otros extractos hidroalcohólicos de C. longa [12], contenga altas concentraciones y variedad de compuestos potencialmente irritantes para la mucosa, lo cual explicaría la gravedad de las lesiones oftalmológicas observadas en este estudio.…”

“…El atractivo de esta planta como ingrediente farmacéutico activo tiene su origen en su demostrada actividad antioxidante, hepatoprotector, antiparasitaria externa, antiviral, antineoplásica, antinflamatoria, inmunomoduladora [12], [13], [14], [15], [16] y antimicrobiana [17], [18], [19], incluso frente a cepas patógenas portadoras de genes de resistencia a antibióticos [20]. Este último comportamiento se debe a su habilidad para dañar el ADN y la membrana microbiana, lo cual provoca la pérdida de los constituyentes citoplasmáticos, inactivación de importantes enzimas y desnaturalización de proteínas [14].…”

“…Numerosos son también los compuestos químicos presentes en esta planta, los cuales respaldan la amplia gama de actividades biológicas confirmadas y especies tratadas [18]. Sobresalen los compuestos a base de turmerona (α-turmerona, ß-turmerona) [12], [21], junto a la curcumina y sus derivados (ar-turmerona, metil curcumina, curcuminato sódico, demetoxicurcumina, bisdemetoxicurcumina, entre otros) [14], [15]. Estos últimos en particular, se caracterizan por la presencia de múltiples grupos fenólicos, metoxilos, carbonilos e hidroxilos en su estructura, lo cual explica sus amplias capacidades de enlace con importantes moléculas biológicas [13], [14], [16].…”

Combination Curcuma longa and Phyllanthus niruri Extract Potentiate Antiproliferative in Triple Negative Breast Cancer MDAMB-231 Cells

“…A natural compound for combination therapy should be potent, but also less toxic toward normal cells (Yan et al, 2017). Previous acute and chronic toxicity studies showed that CL and PN are not toxic in animals (de Queiroz et al, 2013;Abdel-Shafy et al, 2020). Further, the study was continued using CL-PN combination to investigate the synergistic effect mechanism of combination thereof.…”

Acaricidal Efficacy of Plants from Ecuador, Ambrosia peruviana (Asteraceae) and Lepechinia mutica (Lamiaceae) against Larvae and Engorged Adult Females of the Common Cattle Tick, Rhipicephalus microplus

“…Such high percentages of curcumene has only been found in the genus Senecio (Asteraceae) [39]. Curcumene as major compound of EOs has been reported as larvicide against two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae [40] and in sand fly tick, Ornithodoros savignyi [41]. Shyobunol was the major constituent of the EO Lm ; the compound has been reported as an important element of the essential oil of Schinus molle leaves in Mexico and Tunisia [42], but is not a common major component in plant derivatives.…”