Anthelmintic, haematological and antioxidant potential of Spondias mombin L. in young dogs

Abstract

Associated side effects and anthelmintic resistance to synthetic anthelmintics limit their use. This study evaluated the anthelmintic, haematological and antioxidant activities of Spondias mombin (SM) in young dogs. In addition, phytochemical analyses and in vitro antioxidant assays of SM’s fractions were done using standard methods. Ten Nigerian indigenous dog breed (aged 2-6 months), were randomly allocated into two groups (A and B) and pre-treated with 200 µg/kg ivermectin subcutaneously. Two weeks after, each dog was infected with 400 L3/mL Ancylostoma caninum suspension orally and topically. On day 31 post infection, Group A was administered 5 mg/kg pyrantel pamoate (PP) once, while Group B was administered 500 mg/kg aqueous SM leaf extract for two days. Their physical condition, faecal egg count, body weights (BW), haematological, antioxidant and serum biochemistry were evaluated before and two weeks post treatment (PT). Data were presented as mean ± SEM, analyzed using student t-test and Chi-square, and p-value ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. Melanic faeces voided by dogs in both groups returned to normal colour and consistency PT, with SM aqueous extract comparing well with PP. There was slight decrease in WBC (8.74±4.85 to 8.37±1.78x 103/μL), improvement in PCV (30.60±6.54 to 33.20±4.87%), serum biochemistry and antioxidant values for Group B, though not statistically significant (p=0.2). Total cholesterol and phospholipids were significantly reduced PT in Group B (p = 0.05). Nine phytochemicals were identified in SM fractions and the plant demonstrated high free radical scavenging activity. Crude aqueous extract of Spondias mombin leaf is an effective anthelminthic, which can be developed further in the management of canine helminthosis.