In vivo anthelmintic activity of chelidonine from Chelidonium majus L. against Dactylogyrus intermedius in Carassius auratus

• Published in: Parasitology research (1987) 2011-11, Vol.109 (5), p.1465-1469
• Main Authors: Yao, Jia-Yun, Zhou, Zhi-Ming, Pan, Xiao-yi, Hao, Gui-jie, Li, Xi-Lian, Xu, Yang, Shen, Jin-Yu, Ru, Hong-shun, Yin, Wen-lin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alkaloids; Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Anthelmintics - administration & dosage; Anthelmintics - isolation & purification; Benzophenanthridines - administration & dosage; Benzophenanthridines - isolation & purification; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Carassius auratus; Cestode Infections - drug therapy; Cestode Infections - parasitology; Chelidonium - chemistry; Chelidonium majus; Chromatography; Chromatography, Liquid; Dactylogyrus; Fish Diseases - drug therapy; Fish Diseases - parasitology; Fishes; Fresh water ecosystems; Freshwater; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; General aspects and techniques. Study of several systematic groups. Models; Goldfish - parasitology; Health aspects; Immunology; Invertebrates; Mebendazole; Medical Microbiology; Microbiology; Parasitic diseases; Plant Extracts - chemistry; Platyhelminths - drug effects; Platyhelminths - isolation & purification; Short Communication; Synecology; Veterinary supplies industry
• ISSN: 0932-0113; 1432-1955
• DOI: 10.1007/s00436-011-2416-2

Dactylogyrus intermedius is one of the most common and serious cause of parasitic diseases of freshwater fish in aquaculture, and can cause morbidity and high mortality in most species of freshwater fish worldwide. To attempt controlling this parasite and explore novel potential antiparasitic agents, the present study was designed to ascertain the anthelmintic activity of Chelidonium majus L. whole plant and to isolate and characterize the active constituents against D. intermedius . The ethanol extract from C. majus whole plant showed significant anthelmintic activity against D. intermedius [EC 50 (median effective concentration) value = 71.5 mg L −1 ] and therefore subjected to further isolation and purification using various chromatographic techniques. A quaternary benzo[ c ]phenanthridine alkaloid exhibited significant activity against D. intermedius was obtained and identified as chelidonine. In vivo anthelmintic efficacy tests exhibited that chelidonine was 100% effective against D. intermedius at a concentration of 0.9 mg L −1 , with EC 50 value of 0.48 mg L −1 after 48 h of exposure, which is more effective than the positive control, mebendazole (EC 50 value = 1.3 mg L −1 ). In addition, the 48-h median lethal concentration (LC 50 ) for chelidonine against the host ( Carassius auratus ) was 4.54 mg L −1 . The resulting therapeutic index for chelidonine was 9.46. These results provided evidence that chelidonine might be potential sources of new antiparasitic drugs for the control of Dactylogyrus .