Volume 221, 15 May 2016, Pages 46–53
- a Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Université de la Manouba, Institution de la Recherche et de l'Enseignement Supérieur Agricoles, École Nationale de Médecine Vétérinairede Sidi Thabet, 2020 Sidi Thabet, Tunisia
- b Laboratoire des Substances Naturelles, Institut National de Recherche et d’Analyse Physico-Chimique-Pôle Technologique de Sidi Thabet, 2020, Sidi Thabet, Tunisia
- c International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), P.O. Box, 950764 Amman 11195, Jordan
- Received 17 October 2015, Revised 7 March 2016, Accepted 9 March 2016, Available online 11 March 2016
Highlights
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- Antioxidant and anthelmintic activities of R. ulmifolius fruits extracts were tested.
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- Fruits extracts present a higher amount of total phenolics, flavonoids and tannins.
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- Fruits extracts showed significant in vitro antioxidant and anthelmintic activities.
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- High correlation exists between phenolic content and biological activities.
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- Extracts can be used as natural antioxidant and anthelmintic in food/drug industries.
Abstract
Phenolic
content, antioxidant and anthelmintic activities of herbal extracts are
of particular interest to drug industry; plant extracts with
significant anthelmintic activity have the potential to be used as
alternatives to conventional chemical drugs. In the present study, Rubus ulmifolius
fruit extracts obtained using solvents of increasing polarity (water,
methanol, chloroform and hexane) were examined for their antioxidant and
anthelmintic activities in correlation with their polyphenolic content.
In vitro antioxidant activity of all extracts was carried out
using free radical-scavenging activity by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl
(DPPH) and 2,2′-azinobis-(3-ethilenebenzotiazolin)-6-sulfonic acid
(ABTS) radical cation. In vitro anthelmintic activities were investigated on the egg and adult worms of Haemonchus contortus from sheep in comparison to albendazole.
Total polyphenol content of R. ulmifolius
was higher in more polar extract, ranging from 64.5 in aqueous extract
to 1.57 mg gallic acid equivalents per gram of dry weight (GAE/g DW) in
hexanic extract. Likewise, highest amounts of flavonoids and condensed
tannins were found in aqueous extract (28.06 mg QE/g and 7.42 mg CE/g
DW, respectively) compared to hexanic extract (0.71 mg QE/g and 0.29 mg
CE/g DW, respectively) (p < 0.05). Both DPPH and ABTS antioxidant
assays showed that all tested extracts possess free radical scavenging
activity, while the inhibitory concentration 50% (IC50) range values were similar for both assays (2.13–45.54 μg/mL and 1.2–43.82 μg/mL, respectively).
All plant extracts showed ovicidal activity at all tested concentrations. Fruit methanolic (IC50 = 2.76 mg/mL) and aqueous (IC50 = 2.08 mg/mL) extracts showed higher inhibitory effects than chloroformic (IC50 = 7.62 mg/mL) and hexanic (IC50 = 12.93 mg/mL)
extracts on egg hatching (p < 0.05). There was a significant
correlation of total polyphenol, flavonoids and tannins content with
scavenging of either DPPH (r = 0.722, 0.764 and 0.752, p < 0.01, respectively) or ABTS radicals (r = 0.893, 0.765 and 0.722, p < 0.01, respectively) and with inhibition of egg hatching (r = 0.874, 0.883 and 0.862, p < 0.01,
respectively). Highest inhibition of motility (100%) of worms was
observed 8 h post-exposure in aqueous and methanolic extract at 8 mg/mL.
To our knowledge, these results depict for the first time that R. ulmifolius possesses in vitro anthelmintic properties.
Keyworlds
- Rubus ulmifolius;
- Antioxidant;
- Anthelmintic;
- Haemonchus contortus;
- Egg hatching;
- Adult mortality
Published by Elsevier B.V.
