The anthelmintic efficacy of natural plant cysteine proteinases against the equine tapeworm, Anoplocephala perfoliatain vitro

Abstract

Papaya latex has been demonstrated to be an efficacious anthelmintic against murine, porcine, ovine and canine nematode parasites, and even those infecting poultry, and it has some efficacy against rodent cestodes. The active ingredients of papaya latex are known to be cysteine proteinases (CPs). The experiments described in this paper indicate that CPs in papaya latex, and also those in pineapples, are highly efficacious against the equine cestode Anoplocephala perfoliata in vitro, by causing a significant reduction in motility leading to death of the worms. The susceptibility of A. perfoliata to damage by CPs was considerably greater than that of the rodent cestodes Hymenolepis diminuta and H. microstoma. Our results are the first to report anthelmintic efficacy of CPs against an economically important equine helminth. Moreover, they provide further evidence that the spectrum of activity of CPs is not restricted to nematodes and support the idea that these plant-derived enzymes can be developed into useful broad-spectrum anthelmintics.

Development of an Oral Vaccine for the Control of Cysticercosis

“…Table 3 shows some reports on the characterization and evaluation of antiparasitic activity of papaya against Trichostrongylus colubrormis, Heligmosomoides polygyrus, Trichuris muris, Protospirura muricola [39][40][41][42][43][44][45] Rodentolepis microstoma [42], Hymenolepis diminuta and microstoma [46]. Anoplocephala perfoliate [47] Hymenolepis diminuta [48] Hymenolepis microstoma [49] without causing side effects to the host [50,51].…”

The effects of Pyrantel-Oxantel on the Dipylidium caninum tapeworm: An in vitro study

“…Each intestine sample was individually dissected via longitudinal incision and examined for the presence of D. caninum cestodes, which were identified via the macroscopic appearance of the proglottids and allocated using an optical microscope to verify their morphology (27) . Direct observation was carried out under a microscope to determine the viability of the parasites at 40X objective, with cestodes presenting full motility for a one-minute period considered viable for subsequent experimentation (28)(29)(30) .…”

“…After incubation, direct observation was carried out in a stereoscopic microscope every hour to determine the cestocidal effects. The motility test was conducted in triplicate (26) , wherein cestode motility was evaluated on scale of 0 to 5, as follows: 0 indicated completely motionless tapeworms that did not respond to manual stimulation; 1 indicated movement only when prodded; 2 indicated spontaneous activity, but solely at either end of the organism, namely the scolex and the end of strobila; 3 indicated slow and spontaneous activity throughout the assessment; 4 indicated that the subject was more active; and, 5 indicated that the subject was highly active (28)(29)(30) .…”

“…The present study found that P-O substantially reduced tegument thickness in the D. caninum tapeworm. There are reports in the literature of this treatment affecting the tegument to different degrees, causing changes and irreversible morphological damage to the tegument and parenchyma, alterations in muscular organization, the absence of tegumentary microvilli, the loss of membrane cells in subtegumental tissue, the development of a dense granular tegument, and large vacuoles generating a patchy and porous appearance, in the following organisms: the rodent tapeworms Hymenolepis nana (43,44) , Hymenolepis microstoma (44) , Taenia taeniformis (44,45) , Echinococcus multilocularis (44,45) , and Hymenolepis diminuta (29,44,45) ; Taenia solium in experimentally-infected hamsters (46) ; Taenia crassiceps (47)(48)(49) ; Mesocestoides corti (50) ; Raillietina echinobothrida (51)(52)(53)(54) in domestic fowl; Anoplocephala perfoliata (30) in horses; D. caninum (33) in dogs, cats, and humans; the trematode Fasciola hepatica in rats (55) ; Artyfechinostomum sufrartyfex (56) in humans; Fasciolopsis buski (53,56) ; the gastrointestinal swine nematode Ascaris suum (53) ; the gastrointestinal canine hookworm nematode Ancylostoma ceylanicum (57) ; the gastrointestinal rodent nematodes Rodentolepis microstoma (57) , Trichuris muris (58) , and Heligmosomoides polygyrus (59) ; and the parasitic plant nematodes of the genera Meloidogyne and Globodera (60) . The results of the present study concur with the results mentioned above, such as the reduction (thinning) of the tegument by 42.5 % in D. caninum parasites treated with P-O after 6 h of in vitro incubation.…”