In vitro anthelmintic activity of methanol extracts and fractions of two amphilophium species against Eisenia Fetida

Abstract

This work aimed to determine the chemical composition and evaluate the anthelmintic activity of the methanol extracts and fractions from Amphilophium paniculatum and Amphilophium crucigerum against Eisenia fetida. A preliminary phytochemical analysis was performed to assess the presence of groups of secondary metabolites. The plants were extracted with methanol to obtain the crude extracts. The extracts were submitted to partition with solvents of increasing polarity to obtain the corresponding fractions. The methanolic extracts and the fractions obtained were tested for anthelmintic activity against E. fetida, using albendazole as a positive control. The phytochemical test demonstrated the presence of flavonoids, saponins, and steroids/triterpenes for A. paniculatum and alkaloids, tannins, saponins, and steroids/triterpenes for A. crucigerum. The extracts and fractions of both plants showed a statistically significant decrease of the times of paralysis and death compared to albendazole. The results obtained showed that the methanolic extracts and fractions of A. paniculatum and A. crucigerum contain compounds that possess anthelmintic activity. The isolation of the substances responsible of the biological effect described could result in the development of new drugs to treat helminth diseases.