Anthelmintic Activity of Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipsch. Against Ascaridia galli, a Pathogenic Nematode in Poultry: In Vitro and In Vivo Studies

Aim of the study

The growing resistance of helminth parasites to currently available commercial anthelmintic drugs, combined with apprehensions regarding detrimental chemical residues in livestock products, has sparked an interest in exploring medicinal plants as an alternative strategy for treating helminthiasis. As a result, this study was designed to investigate the anthelmintic activity of crude methanolic extracts (CME) of Saussurea costus root on Ascaridia.galli, a pathogenic nematode of poultry.

Materials and methods

In vitro, the anthelmintic effect of Saussurea costus root was evaluated in comparison to commercial anthelmintic, levamisole on the adult nematode parasites, A.galli using worm motility inhibition (WMI) test. The CME of S.costus was also evaluated for in vivo anthelmintic activity in chickens experimentally infected with Ascaridia galli. For the in vivo study, one hundred-day-old chickens were orally infected with embryonated eggs of A. galli worms. The efficacy of the plant extract as an anthelmintic was assessed through two tests: faecal egg count reduction (FECR) test and worm count reduction (WCR) test. The study investigated three distinct doses of plant extract under in vivo setup: 500 mg kg⁻¹ body weight (bw), 1000 mg kg⁻¹ bw, and 2000 mg kg⁻¹ bw.

Results

In vitro, all the tested concentrations of S.costus (25 mg/ml, 50 mg/ml, and 100 mg/ml) showed a significant (P < 0.001) anthelmintic effects on live adult A. galli worms in terms of inhibition of worm motility at different hours post-treatment. At the highest concentration of the extract, we observed worm motility inhibition of 100% at 24 h post-exposure. On day 14 post-treatment, all birds were slaughtered, and adult A. galli worms were subsequently retrieved from their small intestines. Birds treated with CME extract of S. costus root exhibited a significant (P < 0.001) reduction in faecal egg count. However, the administration of the extract at the dosage of 500 mg kg⁻¹bw to the birds did not reveal any significant (P > 0.05) differences in the worm count compared to the negative control group. The CME of S. costus at a dose of 2000 mg kg⁻¹bw showed the highest anthelmintic activity by inducing 83.10% FECR and 76.47% WCR.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the root extract of S. costus has a promising anthelmintic activity on A. galli as demonstrated by the results of the present experiment.