Effect of arecoline, aqueous and methanolic areca nut extracts on rumen fluke

Abstract

Abstract Paramphistomosis is a parasitic disease that causes a reduction of livestock production and economic losses worldwide. In order to avoid side effect and chemical residue from usage of chemical drugs, medicinal plant is an alternative drug for treatment. Areaca nut (Areaca catechu) which one of the domestic plants in Southeast Asia had antihelmintic activity. In this study, arecoline, aqueous and methanolic extracts of areca nut prepared in solutions were tested for antihelmintic activity against rumen flukes (Paramphistomum sp.). The parasites were incubated in a culture media (RPMI-1640, pH 8) at 39°C in a carbon dioxide-incubator containing 0.01, 0.1 and 1 mg/mL of the tested compounds for 15, 30 min, 1 h and 24 h. The results showed that the methanolic and aqueous crude extracts from seeds of Areaca catechu and arecoline HBr at concentration of 1 mg/mL solutions could destroy the tegument (surface membrane) of the flukes and killed them all at initial time. Thus, these areca nut extracts exhibited the potential alternative medicine with antihelmintic activity against rumen flukes.