Phytochemical characterization and insight into the in vitro anthelmintic activity of Artemisia brevifolia Wall ex Dc. against the different life stages of the gastrointestinal nematode of sheep

Abstract

Gastrointestinal nematodes (GINs) are the major constraint to the production of small ruminants worldwide, causing significant losses in growth, productivity, and overall health. Clinical infections may linked to anaemia, diarrhoea, anorexia, oedema, and even mortality, whereas subclinical infections result in hidden production losses. Synthetic drugs are the primary means of control; however, their indiscriminate use has led to the emergence of parasite strains resistant to multiple classes of anthelmintics, this has created strong need for sustainable alternatives. Ethnomedicinal plants have emerged as promising alternative, with Artemisia brevifolia Wall ex Dc. is used as an anthelmintic remedy in small ruminants. The current study aimed to appraise the phytochemical characterization and in vitro anthelmintic activity of crude ethanolic extract (CEE) and crude aqueous extract (CAE) of A. brevifolia. CEE exhibited higher phenolic and flavonoid contents than CAE, with FTIR showing more distinct absorption peaks. HPLC-UV confirmed the presence of key phenolics (gallic acid, quercetin, ferulic acid, vanillic acid, and kaempferol), while LC-MS identified 33 compounds. Anthelmintic activity, assessed through egg hatch test (EHT), larval motility test (LMT), and adult worm motility inhibition assay (AWMIA), revealed that CEE exhibited 87.5 % egg hatch inhibition at 50 mg/mL and complete (100 %) adult worm motility inhibition after 8h post exposure (PE) at 25 mg/mL, while CAE showed 82.7 % and 63.3 % inhibition, respectively. Both extract exhibit dose dependent larvicidal activity. The findings of the present study divulged the remarkable phytochemical characterization and anthelmintic properties of A. brevifolia, and it could be a promising anthelmintic agent in veterinary medicine.