Comparative efficacy and toxic effects of carvacryl acetate and carvacrol on sheep gastrointestinal nematodes and mice

• Carvacrol has a superior ovicidal effect compared to carvacryl acetate.
• Carvacryl acetate and carvacrol have similar larvicidal effects.
• Carvacryl acetate inhibits H. contortus adult motility.
• Carvacryl acetate and carvacrol caused changes in the cuticle and vulvar flap.
• Acetylation reduced the toxicity of monoterpenes.
• Carvacryl acetate reduced the sheep epg.

Carvacrol is a compound isolated from some essential oils. It has been reported to possess anthelmintic activity. Acetylation of this monoterpene has been proposed as a potential way to reduce the toxicity and enhance the pharmacological effects of carvacrol. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of carvacryl acetate (CA) using in vitro and in vivo assays with gastrointestinal nematodes of small ruminants. The egg hatching test (EHT), larval development test (LDT) and adult worm motility (AWM) assessment were conducted to evaluate the effect of the acetylated product and pure carvacrol on Haemonchus contortus eggs, larvae and adults. The structural changes induced in adult H. contortus were assessed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). CA and carvacrol acute toxicity was evaluated in mice. Finally, the efficacy of 250 mg/kg CA and 2.5 mg/kg monepantel (positive control) were evaluated in 30 sheep naturally infected with gastrointestinal nematodes by the fecal egg count reduction test (FECRT). In vitro tests were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by comparison with Tukey’s test. The efficacy was calculated by the Boot Street program using the arithmetic average. The number of eggs in feces (epg) of the groups were transformed to log (x + 1) and subjected to ANOVA to compare differences among the groups by Tukey’s test. The level of significance was P < 0.05. CA and carvacrol inhibited larval hatching by 89.3 and 97.7% at doses of 8.0 and 1.0 mg/ml, respectively. At the concentration of 2 mg/ml, CA and carvacrol inhibited 100% of larval development. At a concentration of 200 μg/ml, CA and carvacrol inhibited the motility of adult worms by 100% and 58.3% at 24 h post-exposure, respectively. CA caused cuticle and vulvar flap wrinkling and bubbles to emerge from the tegument. Carvacrol caused more discreet effects on the cuticle and vulvar flap. The LD10 and LD50 of CA were 566.7 mg/kg and 1544.5 mg/kg, respectively. The LD10 and LD50 of carvacrol were 546.8 mg/kg and 919 mg/kg, respectively. CA and monepantel reduced the epg of sheep by 65.9 and 96.4%, respectively, at 16 days post-treatment. CA showed in vitro and in vivo anthelmintic activity and was less toxic than carvacrol.

Scanning electron microscopic image of vulvar flap of Haemonchus contortus adult female after incubation with PBS (A1) and carvacryl acetate (A2).Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide