Bioguided study of the in vitro parasitocidal effect on adult Hymenolepis nana of the Psidium sartorianum (O. Berg Nied.) fruit methanol extract

Abstract

Intestinal parasites have a high prevalence in many developing countries. In particular, Hymenolepis nana affects primarily children and available treatments are not 100% effective. In Mexico, Psidium sartorianum fruit has been used in traditional medicine to cure intestinal worms. In this paper, the in vitro antiparasitic activity of the methanol extract from P. sartorianum fruit was analyzed by a bioguided strategy and through light and electronic microscopy. Chloroform fraction (CF) of the methanol extract and its sub-fraction (F4-sCF) showed the highest activities; the results for the times of paralysis (5 min) and death (20 min) and the ultrastructural damage were better with F4-sCF than those found using the commercially pure compound Praziquantel. The compound identified in the F4-sCF by nuclear magnetic resonance (1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance) and gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry was the 2′,6′-dihidroxy-4′-methoxychalcone (pinostrobin chalcone). Accordingly to the literature, this chalcone may be acting by inhibition of tubulin polymerization and apoptosis induction, but future studies must identify what the molecular targets in H. nana are behind the effect of this chalcone.