In vitro anthelmintic evaluation of three alkaloids against gastrointestinal nematodes of goats

• Published in: Veterinary parasitology 2021-08, Vol.296, p.109505-109505, Article 109505
• Main Authors: da Silva, Gisele Dias, de Lima, Hélimar Gonçalves, de Sousa, Nilmara Borges, de Jesus Genipapeiro, Igor Leonardo, Uzêda, Rosângela Soares, Branco, Alexsandro, Costa, Silvia Lima, Batatinha, Maria José Moreira, Botura, Mariana Borges
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anthelmintic activity; Berberine; Gastrointestinal nematodes; Piperine; Small ruminants
• ISSN: 0304-4017; 1873-2550
• DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2021.109505

•The three alkaloids inhibited eggs hatch of gastrointestinal nematodes.•Berberine inhibited motility of infective larvae of gastrointestinal nematodes.•The three alkaloids showed low toxicity to Vero cells. This study assessed the in vitro anthelmintic activity of the alkaloids berberine, harmaline and piperine on gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) of goat and their possible cytotoxic effects in Vero cells. The anthelmintic evaluation was performed using the egg hatch (EHA) and larval motility (LMA) assays. Cytotoxicity was determined using the 3- (4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl) -2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The alkaloids berberine and piperine inhibited the hatching of GIN eggs in more than 90 %. Piperine was the most active compound against goat GIN eggs with an EC50 (effective concentration 50 %) of 0.0074 mM (0.0021 mg/mL), while the EC50 of berberine was 1.32 mM (0.49 mg/mL). Harmaline (EC50 = 1.6 mM – 0.34 mg/mL) showed moderate ovicidal action (80.30 %). In LMA, piperine and harmaline reduced larval motility in 2.75 and 25.29 %, respectively. Larvicidal efficacy was evidenced only with the alkaloid berberine, which showed a percentage of inhibition of larval motility of 98.17 % (2.69 mM =1.0 mg/mL). In the MTT assay, all alkaloids showed low toxicity to Vero cells, with a percentage of cell viability greater than 50 % in all concentrations tested. These results suggest that berberine and piperine have anthelmintic potential on goat gastrointestinal nematodes with low toxicity to mammalian cells.