Abstract
BackgroundEmbelia schimperi has been used for the treatment of intestinal parasites especially tapeworm infestations for centuries in Ethiopia. However, there is lack of scientific based evidences regarding the efficacy, safety and phytochemical analysis of this plant despite its frequent use as an anthelmintic. This study has therefore evaluated the efficacy and acute toxicity of E. schimperi thereby generating relevant preclinical information.MethodsThe anthelmintic activities of the crude hydroalcoholic extract of E. schimperi and the isolated compound, embelin, were conducted using in vivo and in vitro models against the dwarf tapeworm, Hymenolepis nana, and the hookworm, Necator americanus, respectively. LD50 of the crude hydroalcoholic extract was determined using Swiss albino mice following the OECD guidelines. Chemical characterization of the isolated embelin was conducted using UV-spectroscopy, HPLC and NMR.ResultsIn the acute toxicity study no prominent signs of toxicity and mortality were recorded among the experimental animals at the highest administered dose. Hence the LD50 of the plant was found to be higher than 5000 mg/kg. In vivo cestocidal activity of the crude hydroalcoholic extract of E. schimperi showed 100 % parasite clearance at 1000 mg/kg, while the diammonium salt of embelin showed 85.3 % parasite clearance at 750 mg/kg. The in vitro anthelminthic activity study revealed that the LC50 value of the crude extract and albendazole were 228.7 and 51.33 μg/mL, respectively.ConclusionThe results clearly indicated that the hydroalcoholic extract of E. schimperi and the diammonium salt of the isolated compound embelin had anthelmintic activity against hookworm larva in vitro and H. nana in vivo. Hence the findings of this study showed Embelia schimperi appears to possess some anthelmintic activity that may support the usage of these plants by local traditional healers to treat helminthic infestations.
Highlights
IntroductionThe Ethiopian scenario is not different from other sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries as the Federal Ministry of Health of Ethiopia (FMoH) [2] reported that annual visits of more than half a million cases in the outpatient departments of health facilities are as a result of intestinal parasitic infections including helminthiases
Embelia schimperi has been used for the treatment of intestinal parasites especially tapeworm infestations for centuries in Ethiopia
A plant which belongs to family Myrsinaceae, is among the most widely used anthelmintic medicinal plant in Ethiopian folk medicine
Summary
The Ethiopian scenario is not different from other SSA countries as the Federal Ministry of Health of Ethiopia (FMoH) [2] reported that annual visits of more than half a million cases in the outpatient departments of health facilities are as a result of intestinal parasitic infections including helminthiases This number might not represent the actual burden as Debebe et al BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2015) 15:187 some of the health facilities lack the appropriate diagnostic methods as well as failure of detecting lower parasite burden [3]. Various ethnomedical studies revealed that the fruit is widely consumed to expel the adult stage of beef tapeworm and other intestinal parasites from the body [4,5,6,7] Despite this frequent utilization of the plant as an alternative anthelmintic medicine, scientific evidences are less abundant supporting the traditional claims in Ethiopia. This study was evaluated the acute toxicity and anthelmintic properties of the most frequently used medicinal plant, Embelia schimperi Vatke
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