Preliminary Screening for the Anthelmintic Activity of Millettia zechiana Harms and Its Modifying Effect on Albendazole

Abstract

Helminthic infections affect a greater proportion of the world's population. This study determined the anthelmintic activity of Millettia zechiana and its modifying effect on albendazole. Powdered leaves of M. zechiana were successively extracted with petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, and ethanol. The anthelmintic potential of the M. zechiana leaf extracts and the modifying effects of the extracts on albendazole were determined on Pheretima posthuma. Phytochemical and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) analyses were performed to determine the chemical composition of each extract. The plant extracts of M. zechiana had few or all phytoconstituents such as tannins, saponins, flavonoids, glycosides, terpenoids, phytosterols, and alkaloids present. The IC₅₀ obtained for albendazole, petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, and ethanol extracts for paralysis time were 0.936, 1.722, 1.283, and 1.348 mg/mL, respectively. The IC₅₀ obtained for albendazole and the ethanol extract for death time were 4.638 and 4.988 mg/mL. The ethanol extract at 10 and 5 mg/mL caused death in the worms after 152.5 ± 8.66 minutes and 304.8 ± 7.27 minutes of exposure, respectively. Ethanol, ethyl acetate, and petroleum ether extracts of M. zechiana significantly modified the activity of albendazole at concentrations of 2.5 and 1.25 mg/mL (P < 0.0001). The ethanol extract which exhibited the best anthelminthic activity was fractionated through column chromatography, and five (5) fractions were obtained. Fractions 1, 2, 4, and 5 had the best paralytic activities against the worms. Fractions 1 and 2 demonstrated better helminthicidal activity than albendazole, which had an IC₅₀ of 3.915. The GC-MS analysis of the ethanol, ethyl acetate, and petroleum ether extracts showed the presence of 10, 10, and 37 compounds, respectively, with 9-octadecenamide, (Z)-, n-hexadecanoic acid, oleic acid, and some aromatic compounds being the most predominant. The results obtained indicate that M. zechiana leaf extract possesses anthelmintic activity.