In Vitro Anthelmintic Activity of Isatis tinctoria Extracts against Ewes' Gastrointestinal Nematodes (GINs), a Possible Application for Animal Welfare.

Monica Ragusa,Laura Rinaldi,Fabio Castagna,Domenico Britti,Vincenzo Musella,Maria Fernanda Taviano,Antonio Bosco,Natalizia Miceli,Cristian Piras

doi:10.3390/vetsci9030129

Abstract

Sheep gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) infestation represents a limiting factor for sheep farming and milk production in Italy. The development of anthelmintic resistance to conventionally used drugs suggests the path towards the use of natural remedies as a possible alternative. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the in vitro anthelmintic efficacy of the hydroalcoholic extracts of basal leaves (It-BL), cauline leaves (It-CL) and flowers (It-F) of Isatis tinctoria (Brassicaceae), a spontaneous Sicilian species renowned as an important source of bioactive compounds. The dry extracts of the different parts of the plant were tested using the egg hatch test (EHT) in vitro to verify the efficacy against ovine GIN at different concentrations (1.00, 0.5, 0.25, 0.125 mg/mL). Thiabendazole and deionized water were used as positive and negative controls, respectively. The results obtained from EHT indicated that all the I. tinctoria extracts were highly effective (p < 0.0001) in inhibiting egg hatching within 48 h of exposure. The in vitro inhibitory effect was never less than 84% in all doses tested, and it was only slightly lower than the standard drug thiabendazole (95.6%). The current study documents the anthelmintic activity of I. tinctoria against sheep’s GIN, suggesting its application as alternative natural method to limit the use of antiparasitic drugs.

Highlights

Parasitic diseases, such as those caused by helminths, represent one of the main issues in livestock farms around the world
The hydroalcoholic dry extracts obtained from basal leaves (It-BL), cauline leaves (It-CL) and flowers (It-F) of I. tinctoria were analyzed in vitro for their anthelmintic properties
When the extracts were tested at the concentration of 1 mg/mL, it was recorded an inhibition of larvae growth equal to 95% for the positive control and of 89% for I. tinctoria basal leaves (It-BL), 85% for It-CL and of 93% for It-F

Summary

Introduction

Parasitic diseases, such as those caused by helminths, represent one of the main issues in livestock farms around the world. The monitoring of GIN infection in sheep and other animals through regular diagnoses allows the use of targeted and alternative treatments in the early stages to block the occurrence of AR in these anthelmintic resistance-free areas. This problem increases the need to find ecologically and economically sustainable solutions that provide for a non-chemical control of parasites. For this purpose, it may be useful to resort to the use of plants that grow spontaneously in the same geographical area in which animals are reared. Among the plants of which various beneficial properties have been demonstrated and which grow spontaneously in Sicily, there are several species belonging to the Brassicaceae family [10–13]

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