TITLE:
In Vitro Anthelmintic Activity of Leaf Extracts of Celosia laxa Schum. & Thonn
AUTHORS:
Sylvester Nefai Mathias, Emmanuel Halilu Mshelia, Bala Bilyaminu Danbala, Aminu Ahmed Biambo
KEYWORDS:
Anthelmintic, Extracts, Maceration, Praziquantel, Phytoconstituents, Indian Earthworm
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Applied Sciences,
Vol.11 No.12,
December
17,
2021
ABSTRACT: Background: Celosia laxa (Amaranthaceae) is mainly a
west African plant species used in Traditional Medicine as an anthelmintic,
anticancer, antibacterial and analgesic agent. The seeming prevalence of worm
infection in Gwandu community of Gwandu Local Government
Area of Kebbi State-Nigeria prompted this study. Methods: Whole plant of C. laxa extracts obtained through maceration in
aqueous (AE), methanol (ME) and hexane (HE) solvents were investigated for their anthelmintic activity against Indian earthworms (Pheretima
posthuman) at four different (gradient) concentrations of 10, 20, 40
and 80 (mg/ml) for each extract. The study
involved the determination of time of paralysis (P) and time of death (D) of
the worms. Results: Both the aqueous and ethanolic extracts exhibited
significant anthelmintic activity at the highest concentration of 80
mg/ml as compared to the standard drug, praziquantel (10 mg/ml). Consequently, the aqueous extract showed a higher activity at 80 mg/ml compared to standard praziquantel at 10 mg/ml
(with no significant value of p 0.05). The time of paralysis and death observed for
AE was 13.0 ± 1.8 and 16.8 ± 1.5 while the ME was less bioactive with 15.7 ± 0.5
and 23.0 ± 0.0 respectively. However, on the other hand, the hexane extract recorded
no-activity on all the test sample concentrations, compared to the standard drug (with a significant difference of
p-value, p > 0.05). Conclusion: It was concluded that the
leaves of C. laxa are likely to yield a potent anthelminthic drug owing
to soluble phytoconstituent which are largely hydrophilicity extracted by the
polar solvents. Also, considering that the plants’ mode of preparation for use
by the locals was aqueous decoction before administration, the folkloric
therapeutic claims can be said to have been justified.