EVALUATION OF ANTHELMINTIC ACTIVITY OF AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF THREE MEDICINAL PLANTS OF BANGLADESH

EVALUATION OF ANTHELMINTIC ACTIVITY OF AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF THREE MEDICINAL PLANTS OF BANGLADESH

Mohammad Sarwar, Md. Al Amin Topu, Deepanwita Nath, Tasmina Rahman, Md. Sohel Rana, Dipongkar Roy and Pritesh Ranjan Dash *

Department of Pharmacy, ASA University Bangladesh, Shyamoli, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

ABSTRACT: The development of anthelmintic resistance and the higher expense of traditional anthelmintic medications caused the Zingiber stigation of medicinal plants as a potential substitute of anthelmintics, utilizing the P. posthuma adult earthworm. The present investigation focuses on the anthelmintic potential of three traditionally used plants of Bangladesh: Zingiber officinale (family: Zingiberaceae), Momordica charantia (family: Cucurbitaceae), and Moringa oleifera (family: Moringaceae) at all tested concentrations (25 mg/ml, 50 mg/ml, and 100 mg/ml), the extracts showed anthelmintic activity. The greatest effect was seen at 100 mg/ml. At higher concentrations, Momordica charantia (Korola) showed the strongest anthelmintic effect among the plants, followed by Zingiber officinale (Ada) and Moringa oleifera (Sajna pata). The traditional use of these plants as natural anthelmintic agents is supported by these results.

Keywords: P. posthuma, Zingiberaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Moringaceae, Earthworm

INTRODUCTION: Helminth infections are one of the most prevalent diseases in developing and developed countries. Globally, 2 billion people are infected by intestinal nematodes. Most diseases caused by helminthes are chronic and debilitating in nature, they probably cause more morbidity and greater economic and social deprivation among humans and animals than any other single group of parasites.

Parasitic gastroenteritis is caused by mixed infection with several species of stomach and intestinal worms, which results in weakness, loss of appetite, decreased feed efficiency, reduced weight and decreased productivity ¹. Anthelmintics are drugs which may kill infesting helminthes. Chemotherapy is the only treatment and effective tool to cure and control helminthes infection, as effective vaccines have not been developed so far.

Indiscriminate use of synthetic anthelmintics can lead to resistance of parasites ². Helminthic infection is one of the health issues that affect human he and livestock in the world. The helminths which infect the gastrointestinal system are cestodes, nematodes, and trematodes. The synthetic drugs available have been shown to have side effects; moreover, resistance of the parasites to existing drugs is increasing ³. Gastrointestinal parasite becomes a serious threat to the livestock production in the developing nations. In spite of the development of anthelmintic resistance in the parasites of higher economic significance, chemotherapy is still used widely for the purpose of controlling the helminthes ⁴. Helminthiasis which is caused by the helminthes infection is proved to be a major constraint in the livestock production all around the globe. As mentioned above, chemotherapeutics remains the corner stone for treating the helminthiasis by overcoming certain factors such as chemical residues and toxicity, increased cost, non-adaptability of drugs and non-availability in the remote areas ⁵.

A part of the Cucurbitaceae family, Momordica charantia (Korola) is a popular vegetable in Bangladesh and is prized in traditional medicine. Alkaloids, saponins, tannins, and flavonoids found in its fruit and leaves have been linked to antimicrobial, antidiabetic, and anthelmintic properties ⁶. The Zingiberaceae family includes the widely used spice and medicinal Zingiber officinale (Ada). Gingerols and shogaols are examples of phytochemicals that have been found to be active substances with vermicidal, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. According to studies, ginger extracts have a strong in-vitro anthelmintic effect on gastrointestinal nematodes and Pheretima posthuma ⁷. The Moringaceae family includes Moringa oleifera (Sajna pata). In addition to being high in proteins, vitamins, and phenolic compounds, it exhibits pharmacological properties such as anthelmintic, antimicrobial, and anticancer effects. Effective paralysis of P. posthuma have been shown by aqueous extracts of M. oleifera leaves ⁸.

M. charantia, Z. officinale and M. oleifera are promising candidates for the creation of natural anthelmintic agents due to their historical use and documented effectiveness. The purpose of this study is to examine the in-vitro anthelmintic.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The experiment was conducted using regular saline water and albendazole. Different dosages of an aqueous extract of the leaves of Momordica charantia (family: Cucurbitaceae), Moringa oleifera (family: Moringaceae), and Zingiber officinale (family: Zingiberaceae) were evaluated in each group. Saline water was used as the standard control. In a comparative analysis of in-vitro anthelmintic activity, albendazole obtained from Albion Laboratories Ltd. served as the standard medication. The investigation documented the anthelmintic properties of the aqueous extract.

Earthworms: To study the anthelmintic activity, adult earthworms (P. posthuman) used in-vitro. The earthworms were identified at Primeasia University in Bangladesh after being taken from Brahmanbaria district. The worms were between 2 and 4 cm long and 0.2 and 0.3 cm wide.

Collection and Identification of Plants:

There are Three Plants: Momordica charantia, Zingiber officinale and Moringa oleifera plant samples were collected from the Brahmanbaria district of Bangladesh. The sample of three plants was verified at the Bangladesh National Herbarium in Mirpur, Dhaka. The identification numbers of three plants were Momordica charantia DAC137454, Zingiber officinale DAC135491, and Moringa oleifera DAC135493. To keep the phytoconstituents, the plant parts were chopped into small pieces, cleaned with distilled water, and then left to dry at room temperature in the shade.

Anthelmintic Activity: For the preliminary evaluation of anthelmintic activity, the assay was carried out in-vitro using adult Bangladeshi earthworms (Pheretima posthuma). These worms were chosen because of their close morphological and physiological resemblance to human intestinal nematodes. Extract solutions were freshly prepared in normal saline at concentrations of 25, 50, and 100 mg/ml.

For each concentration, six worms of nearly equal size were placed in a beaker containing 50 ml of the respective solution. The positive control was albendazole, a well-known benzimidazole derivative that has been demonstrated to be efficient in paralysing and killing helminths by blocking microtubule polymerization ⁹. Normal saline was utilised as the negative control to ensure that any action was due to the extract or standard medication and not osmotic effects. The worms were observed carefully throughout the experiment. Paralysis was recorded at the point when the worms ceased movement, except for occasional responses upon vigorous shaking ¹⁰. Death was confirmed when the worms failed to respond even after being exposed to gentle agitation or immersion in warm water (50°C).

Phytochemical Screening: Alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins/phenols, steroids, terpenoids, glycosides, and saponins were among the secondary metabolites found in the crude extracts of M. charantia ¹¹, Z. officinale ¹², and M. oleifera ¹³ according to qualitative phytochemical screening.

TABLE 1: RESULT OF PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING OF M. CHARANTIA, Z. OFFICINALE, M. OLEIFERA

Present (+), Absent (-)

TABLE 2: RESULT OF IN-VITRO EVOLUTIONS OF THE ANTHELMINTIC ACTIVITY OF M. CHARANTIA

TABLE 3: RESULT OF IN-VITRO EVOLUTIONS OF THE ANTHELMINTIC ACTIVITY OF Z. OFFICINALE

TABLE 4: RESULT OF IN-VITRO EVOLUTIONS OF THE ANTHELMINTIC ACTIVITY OF M. OLEIFERA

RESULT: In these three plants M. charantia, Z. officinale, M. oleifera by using phytochemical screening, alkaloids, tannins, reducing sugar, flavonoids, steroids, terpenoids, and saponins were found in the aqueous extracts.

Anthelmintic Activity: At 25, 50, and 100 mg/mL, the extracts of Momordica charantia, Zingiber officinale, and Moringa oleifera were tested against adult earthworms (Pheretima posthuma). Maximum effects were typically seen at the highest concentration. Although all three plants exhibited dose-dependent activity. The worms were paralyzed by M. charantia at 100 mg/mL in about 40 minutes, and they died in about 65 minutes.  In a same way, the Z. officinale extract caused paralysis at approximately 44 minutes and death at 63 minutes.  Then, M. oleifera took almost the same amount of time and get 41 minutes to cause paralysis, but the worms lived much longer, death at 180 minutes later. During the tests, all three plant extracts showed better anthelmintic efficacy than the conventional reference medicine, albendazole (10 mg/ml), which resulted in paralysis at around 180 minutes and death at around 203 minutes.

Overall, Z. officinale and M. charantia both faster and stronger anthelmintic effects than M. oleifera, which produced paralysis in a similar amount of time but had a much slower lethal action.  This indicates that while all three of them possess significant anthelmintic activity, M. charantia and Z. officinale may have a more potent combination of active phytochemicals contributing to their efficacy.

DISCUSSION: The extracts of Momordica charantia, Zingiber officinale, and Moringa oleifera were tested against adult earthworms (Pheretima posthuma) at concentrations of 25, 50, and 100 mg/mL. The results showed a clear dose-dependent anthelmintic activity, with 100 mg/mL showing the highest efficacy. M. charantia demonstrated robust and quick anthelmintic action at this concentration, causing paralysis at about 40 minutes and death at about 65 minutes. Likewise, Z. officinale produced paralysis at roughly 44 minutes and death at 63 minutes, which is extremely similar to M. charantia's effectiveness. Though its deadly effect was much slower, with death happening at around 180 minutes, M. oleifera also produced paralysis at about 41 minutes. Albendazole (10 mg/mL), the reference medication, on the other hand, took significantly longer roughly 180 minutes to cause paralysis and 203 minutes to cause death. As a result, the three plant extracts performed better in terms of speed of action than albendazole, with M. charantia and Z. officinale being especially quick and effective. These results are consistent with previous studies showing that M. charantia extracts have strong in-vitro anthelmintic activity against P. posthuma ¹⁴ and that Z. officinale extracts have similarly strong effects against Haemonchus contortus, achieving complete mortality after a few hours ¹⁵. Furthermore, in similar in vitro investigations, M. oleifera extracts have demonstrated significant dose-dependent anthelmintic effects ¹⁶. Together, these findings provide credence to the notion that Z. officinale and M. charantia are more effective anthelmintic agents than M. oleifera because they include phytochemical ingredients that operate more quickly in the neuromuscular and fatal domains. This study thus highlights the potential of these medicinal plants, particularly M. charantia and Z. officinale, as quick and efficient natural substitutes for traditional anthelmintic medications like as albendazole. Isolating phytochemicals and validating these compounds in-vivo should be the main goals of future studies.

CONCLUSION: This study showed that aqueous extracts of Momordica charantia, Zingiber officinale, and Moringa oleifera are capable of producing considerable anthelmintic effects when tested against Pheretima posthuma. The activity can be linked to the presence of bioactive compounds such as flavonoids, tannins, saponins, and terpenoids, which are commonly associated with antiparasitic properties. Between the three plants, M. charantia and Z. officinale produced faster and stronger effects, while M. oleifera demonstrated a comparatively slower action. These findings lend support to the traditional use of these plants in the management of worm infections and suggest that further studies, particularly in vivo experiments, are needed to confirm their safety and practical value as natural alternatives to synthetic anthelmintic agents.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Nil

CONFLICT OF INTEREST: Nil

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    How to cite this article:

    Sarwar M, Topu AA, Nath D, Rahman T, Rana S, Roy D and Dash PR: Evaluation of anthelmintic activity of aqueous extract of three medicinal plants of Bangladesh. Int J Pharmacognosy 2026; 13(3): 216-20. doi link: http://dx.doi.org/10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.IJP.13(3).216-20.

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