Abstract

EVALUATION OF ANTHELMINTIC POTENTIAL OF LEPTADENIA RETICULATA ROOT EXTRACTS USING PHERETIMAPOSTHUMA MODEL

S. Khalidha Banu*, S. Manju, D. Vaishnavi, S. Sivaneshwar, B. Kandasamy, M. Aravindhan and T. S. Sathya

ABSTRACT

About 1.5 billion individuals across the world are infected with helminths but traditional anthelmintics such as albendazole and ivermectin have triggered the need for developing natural plant-based treatments[2,3] to address this global infection challenge.[1] The research evaluated the anthelmintic properties of Leptadenia reticulata (Apocynaceae) root extracts against Pheretimaposthuma organisms. The extraction process using Soxhlet technology produced 19.42% w/w LREE from ethanol solution and 17.34% w/w LREAE from ethyl acetate solution as percentage by weight.[4,5] The anthelmintic performance of LREE exceeded LREAE (paralysis time: 91.3±3.24 min and death time: 158.35±3.92 min at 20 mg/mL) compared to the faster effects of albendazole (paralysis time: 35.88±2.47 min and death time: 98.26±3.89 min per study results.[6,7] Research findings demonstrated that L. reticulata extract conducted multiple biochemical actions including nAChR receptor blockade and glycolysis inhibiton and oxidative stress generation.[8-10] L. reticulata extracts provide better pharmacological properties when compared to synthetic drugs because they have reduced toxicity levels together with multi-target efficacy and decreased resistance potential.[11,12] Research findings confirm the traditional Ayurvedic use of L. reticulata against parasites and create sufficient grounds for future investigations about active compound identification and in vivo validation and formulation optimization.

Keywords: Anthelmintic, Leptadenia reticulata, Phytochemicals, Drug resistance, Pheretimaposthuma, Traditional medicine.