Abstract
The in vitro schistosomicidal effects of the essential oil of Ageratum conyzoides L. (Ac-EO) against adult worms of Schistosoma mansoni is reported in this paper. Concerning this activity, Ac-EO was considered to be active, but less effective than the positive control (praziquantel, PZQ) in terms of separation of coupled pairs, mortality, decrease in motor activity, and tegumental alterations. However, Ac-EO caused an interesting dose-dependent reduction in the number of eggs of S. mansoni. Precocene I (74.30%) and (E)-caryophyllene (14.23%) were identified as the two major constituents of Ac-EO. These compounds were tested individually and were found to be much less effective than Ac-EO and PZQ. A mixture of the two major compounds in a ratio similar to that found in the Ac-EO was also less effective than Ac-EO, thus revealing that there are no synergistic effects between these components. These results suggest that the essential oil of A. conyzoides is very promising for the development of new schistosomicidal agents.
Highlights
Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by trematode flatworms of the genus Schistosoma, is one of the most prevalent tropical diseases in the World [1]
These results suggest that the in vitro schistosomicidal activity of Ac-EO may be related to minor constituents present in the essential oil or ruled by more intricate synergistic and/or additive relationships
The essential oil of A. conyzoides obtained by hydrodistillation was analyzed by GC-MS on a Shimadzu QP2010 Plus (Shimadzu Corporation, Kyoto, Japan) system equipped with a AOC-20i autosampler under the following conditions: Restek Rtx-5MS fused silica capillary column
Summary
Schistosomiasis, a disease caused by trematode flatworms of the genus Schistosoma, is one of the most prevalent tropical diseases in the World [1]. The growing need for the development of novel and inexpensive drugs against schistosomiasis has led the scientific community to intensify the search for extracts and pure compounds obtained from plants exhibiting potential schistosomicidal properties [6,8]. Only a few number of essential oils have been investigated for their schistosomicidal potential [9]. (Asteraceae), an annual aromatic weed from Southeastern Brazil This species is commonly found in tropical and subtropical zones and is popularly known as “mentrasto” in Portuguese [11,12]. The antihelmintic and nematicidal properties of this essential oil have been reported [12], its effects on adult worms of the genus Schistosoma, on the egg laying capacity of this worm, and on egg development have not been investigated so far
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