Abstract
Context A variety of Acmella oleracea (L.) R.K. Jansen (Asteraceae) is used by the Mizo people of India and Myanmar for intestinal helminthiasis. Objective To perform a chemical analysis of the plant extract using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and test the anthelmintic activity on intestinal parasites. Materials and methods An extract of the aerial parts was prepared in hexane and analysed using GC-MS. Survival test was performed in vitro on the cestode, Taenia tetragona, and the nematode, Ascaridia perspicillum. Concentrations of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10 and 20 mg/mL, prepared in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) with 1% dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO), were tested. Negative control was maintained in PBS with DMSO, and albendazole was used as a reference drug. Each treatment consisted of six worms and was done until death was confirmed. Scanning electron microscopy was used to describe the structural changes. Results Nineteen compounds were detected. The major compounds were fatty alcohols such as 3,7,11,15-tetramethylhexadec-2-en-1-ol and (9Z)-9-hexadecen-1-ol. Important bioactive compounds including an alkylamide, N-isobutyl-(2E,4Z,8Z,10E)-dodecatetraenamide, and a triterpenoid, lupeol, were also confirmed. The lethal concentration (LC50) of the plant extract was 5128.61 ppm on T. tetragona and 8921.50 ppm on A. perspicillum. Tegumental shrinkage, erosion of microtriches, and distortion of the suckers were observed on the cestode. The nematode showed collapse of the lips and shrunk cuticle. Conclusions Acmella oleracea contains important bioactive compounds, which are responsible for the broad-spectrum anthelmintic activity. Further study on the pharmacology of the compounds is warranted.
Highlights
IntroductionHelminthiases are among the neglected tropical diseases that attract less attention than other infections because their immediate symptoms are not life-threatening
It is vitally crucial to admit that the situation due to helminthiasis is exacerbated by a pervasive anthelmintic resistance in major helminths to all available anthelmintic drugs
Acmella oleracea is already known to be a rich source of important bioactive compounds such as amides, a- and b-amyrinester, miricilic alcohol glycosides, sitosterol, saponins, stigmasterol, and triterpenes which are attributed to different biological activities (Lemos et al 1991; Paulraj et al 2013)
Summary
Helminthiases are among the neglected tropical diseases that attract less attention than other infections because their immediate symptoms are not life-threatening. They are the major cause of morbidity in humans and decreased productivity in veterinary livestock. They are the most prevalent infectious diseases in humans. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports in 2019 that soil-transmitted helminths infect 1.5 billion people (WHO 2019a), while schistosomiases alone accounts for 220 million cases (WHO 2019b), thereby surpassing malaria (at 219 million cases) as the most prevalent infection. The need for improvements of these drugs and alternative sources of drugs is utterly compelling (Becker et al 2018; Schulz et al 2018)
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