ANTHELMINTHIC EFFECTS OF CRUDE EXTRACTS OF Citrullus vulgaris (L.) Schrad. (watermelon) AND Cucumis sativus L. (cucumber) SEEDS ON Ascaris suum Goeze

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that plants belonging to the family Cucurbitaceae exhibit anthelmintic properties due to the amino acid cucurbitacin. In this study, two members of family Cucurbitaceae, Citrullus vulgaris (L.) Schrad. (watermelon) and Cucumis sativus L (cucumber), were used and their lethal dose (LDso) were determined. Watermelon and cucumber seeds were extracted with ethanol followed by rotary evaporator and water bath. Four treatments for each of the two methods were then set-up. These were composed of a negative control (200 ml BaMs), a positive control (pyrantel pamoate) with concentrations of 0.31 mg/ml, 0.23 mg/ml, 0.16mg/ml, 0.08 mg/ml, watermelon seeds crude extract and cucumber seeds crude extract. The concentrations of crude extracts of both watermelon and cucumber seeds are 83.33 mg/ml, 66.67 mg/ml, 50 mg/ml and 33.33 mg/ml. Changes in the behavior of the worms like agitation or faster body movements and stiffness of the bodies were observed. Mortality was recorded after 36 hours. The study found that there is no mortality for the treatments using rotary evaporator as the extraction method. In the water bath method however, worm mortality increased as concentration of seed extracts increased. Computed LDso values for the treatments using water bath were 5833424 mg/ml for watermelon and 74.16277 mg/ml for cucumber. It was also observed for both methods that for some worms, paralytic, stiff-like properties were exhibited, thus displaying a positive response to the treatment sensitivity test. These findings were supported by a histological study that showed apparent structural differences in the muscles of the worms. These demonstrated the toxicity of the seed extracts on Ascaris suum.