In vivo anti-schistosomal activity of the methanol extracts from Searsia longipes and Lannea schimperi

Abstract

Schistosomiasis is a disease caused by the flat worms under the genus Schistosoma. The disease is prominent in tropical and sub tropical countries and it is manifested in two forms; the acute and the chronic form. Treatment and control of the schistosomiasis is constrained with various factors including immerging worm resistance and selective efficacy of the current recommended drug of choice. This therefore calls for the search of new approaches to offset the problems. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of the methanolic extract from Searsia longipes and Lannea schimperi against Schistosoma mansoni by using animal model. Swiss albino mice were used for the efficacy testing, whereby, for each extract, 5 groups of mice were used, and each contained 5 mice. Three different doses were administered to three groups, whereas the remaining two groups were used as negative and positive control arms. Efficacies were assessed based on the reduction of the worm eggs in the faeces and organs, body weight gain, loss of liver weight, as well as reduction of worm burden. Both extracts demonstrated significant egg and worm reduction, which was directly proportional to the dose increment. At the highest dose used, Searsia longipes expressed the higher percentage egg reduction (73.33 %), whereas Lannea schimperi demonstrated the higher worm burden reduction (68.53 %). The present study provides strong evidence of the anti-schistosomal activity of the extracts from both S. longipes and L. schimperi. These findings are a significant step forward, suggesting that these plants could be a promising alternative medicine for the treatment of schistosomiasis. However, further investigations are warranted to isolate the compound responsible for this activity and to assess the sub-acute toxicity of the plant extracts. This next phase of research is crucial for advancing our understanding and potential use of these plant extracts.

Keywords: In vivo and anti-schistosomal; Lannea schimperi; Schistosoma mansoni; Searsia longipes.

Fig. 1

Eggs Reduction Rate following mice treatment with Lannea schimperi extract (Source: Table 1).

Fig. 2

Eggs Reduction Rate following mice treatment with Searsia longipes extract (Source: Table 1).

Fig. 3

Mean deference's of the recovered worms between treatment (various concentrations of Lannea schimperi) and control groups (Source: Table 2).

Fig. 4

Mean deference's of the recovered worms between treatment (various concentrations of Searsia longipes) and control groups (Source: Table 2).

Fig. 5

Body weight of mice before and after treatment with different doses of Lannea schimperi extract.

Fig. 6

Mean body weight of mice before and after treatment with different doses of Searsia longipes extract.

Fig. 7

Line graph showing the weight of the mice following treatment with disparate doses of Lannea schismperi (LSM) and Searsia Longipes (RLM) (Source: Table 3).

Fig. 8

(A) Negative control (Red arrows indicates granuloma), (B) LSM 300 (Red arrows indicates granuloma), (C) LSM 600 (white arrow indicates scar tissue section of the liver as it recovering from periportal fibrosis), (D) LSM 1200, (E) PZQ, (F) RLM 300 (Red arrows indicates granuloma), (G) RLM 600, (H) RLM 1200. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)