Abstract
Increasing resistance towards anthelmintic drugs has necessitated the search for alternative treatments for the control of gastrointestinal nematode parasites. Animals fed on chicory (Cichorium intybus L.), a temperate (pasture) crop, have reduced parasite burdens, hence making C. intybus a potentially useful source for novel anthelmintic compounds or a diet-based preventive/therapeutic option. Here, we utilized in vitro bioassays with the parasitic nematode Ascaris suum and molecular networking techniques with five chicory cultivars to identify putative active compounds. Network analysis predicted sesquiterpene lactones (SL) as the most likely group of anthelmintic compounds. Further bioassay-guided fractionation supported these predictions, and isolation of pure compounds demonstrated that the SL 8-deoxylactucin (8-DOL) is the compound most strongly associated with anti-parasitic activity. Furthermore, we showed that 8-DOL acts in a synergistic combination with other SL to exert the anti-parasitic effects. Finally, we established that chicory-derived extracts also showed activity against two ruminant nematodes (Teladorsagia circumcincta and Cooperia oncophora) in in vitro assays. Collectively, our results confirm the anti-parasitic activity of chicory against a range of nematodes, and pave the way for targeted extraction of active compounds or selective breeding of specific cultivars to optimize its future use in human and veterinary medicine.
Highlights
Parasitic infections have major detrimental impacts on human pop ulations worldwide, causing disease, reduced nutrition and quality of life, and reduced productivity of affected individuals
Animals fed on chicory (Cichorium intybus L.), a temperate crop, have reduced parasite burdens, making C. intybus a potentially useful source for novel anthelmintic compounds or a diet-based preventive/therapeutic option
Further bioassay-guided fractionation supported these predictions, and isolation of pure compounds demonstrated that the sesquiterpene lactones (SL) 8-deoxylactucin (8-DOL) is the compound most strongly associated with anti-parasitic activity
Summary
Parasitic infections have major detrimental impacts on human pop ulations worldwide, causing disease, reduced nutrition and quality of life, and reduced productivity of affected individuals. Plants are a rich source of novel anti-parasitic compounds This has been especially well demonstrated in livestock, where either wild plants or crops can be used as dietary interventions that may reduce intestinal helminth infection (Hoste et al, 2012; Pena-Espinoza et al, 2016). Further in vitro assays with O. ostertagi and the swine helminths, Oesophagostomum dentatum and Ascaris suum (closely related to the human A. lumbricoides) found marked differences in anti-parasitic effects between chicory cultivars, which correlated with distinct SL profiles (Pena-Espinoza et al, 2015; Williams et al, 2016). Using material from multiple chicory cultivars, we utilized a robust anti-parasitic assay with A. suum larvae to assess the activity of extracts and fractions as well as purified compounds. We conducted bioassays with parasitic nematodes from different hosts to establish that extracts from chicory exert broad-spectrum anti-parasitic activity
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