In vitro antischistosomal activity of Artemisia annua and Artemisia afra extracts

Lorencia Taljaard, Alexandra Probst, Robert Tornow, Jennifer Keiser, Richard K. Haynes, Frank van der Kooy

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)
29 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Background: Schistosomiasis, a neglected tropical disease, imposes substantial health and economic burdens on impoverished groups living in predominantly rural areas. Praziquantel (PZQ) is the only drug available for treatment, and it is not completely efficacious. Artemisia annua and Artemisia afra infusions were proposed to possess antischistosomal activities in a recently retracted publication of a clinical trial, leading to our investigation in vitro.

Objective: The objective was to identify the main components of the infusions and evaluate the in vitro antischistosomal activities of traditionally prepared infusions as well as hexane and dichloromethane (DCM) extracts of the infusions of A. afra and A. annua. Methods: Infusions of A. afra and A. annua were submitted to liquid-liquid partitioning with n-hexane and DCM to provide samples for in vitro bioassays using newly transformed schistosomulas (NTS) and adult Schistosoma mansoni worms obtained from infected mice. The viability of the NTS and adult S. mansoni was visually scored via microscopic readout.

Results: Nine phytochemicals comprising coumarins and organic acids were identified. A. afra and A. annua infusions and extracts possess potent in vitro antischistosomal activities against NTS, at 100 μg/ml. However, the A. afra infusions exhibited better activities against NTS than the A. annua infusion. The A. afra hexane- and DCM extracts presented IC50 values that are similar to PZQ (1.5 μg/ml) and approximately five times lower than the comparison drug artesunate (11.6 μg/ml) against NTS. Low IC50 values for both these extracts were also obtained in phenotypic assays with adult S. mansoni.

Conclusion: A. afra shows greater antischistosomal potential than A. annua. Thus, further studies are necessary to identify the active molecule(s) responsible for the notable antischistosomal activity of A. afra.

Original languageEnglish
Article number100279
Pages (from-to)1-6
Number of pages6
JournalPhytomedicine Plus
Volume2
Issue number3
Early online date14 Apr 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2022

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'In vitro antischistosomal activity of Artemisia annua and Artemisia afra extracts'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this