Anthelmintic and cytotoxic activities of extracts of Markhamia obtusifolia Sprague (Bignoniaceae)

The anthelmintic activity of Markhamia obtusifolia Sprague (Bignoniaceae) leaf extracts was evaluated against the ruminant gastrointestinal nematode parasite Trichostrongylus colubriformis (Nematoda: Strongylida) using the in vitro egg hatch test. Also, the cytotoxic activity of aqueous extracts of M. obtusifolia was evaluated in cell line cytotoxicity assays. The results indicated that the effective concentration (EC50) for the water extract of M. obtusifolia leaves (0.46 mg/mL; Confidence Interval [CI] 0.3-0.5 mg/mL) was significantly lower than the EC50 for the acetone extract of M. obtusifolia (0.8 mg/mL; CI 0.7-1 mg/mL). Aqueous extracts were twice as potent as the acetone extracts. The EC90 (0.2 mg/mL; CI 0.1-0.02) for thiabendazole (positive control) was significantly lower than the EC90 for the water extract of M. obtusifolia (10.7 mg/mL; CI 8.3-13.7 mg/mL). In the cytotoxicity bioassay, the lethal concentration (LC50) for the aqueous extract of M. obtusifolia was 0.476 mg/mL, which was relatively high (low toxicity) in comparison to the highly toxic berberine (LC50 = 9.80 μg/mL). The current study showed that M. obtusifolia plant extracts possess anthelmintic activity and are relatively non-cytotoxic, thus providing support for their use in traditional veterinary practices.