Development of herbal antihelmintic syrup from an aqueous extract of shoots of oxygonum sinuatum and hewittia sublobata against strongyloides stercoralis

Abstract

Background: Strongyloides stercoralis is a tiny parasitic, soil-transmitted nematode that affects particularly the small intestine in humans and causes a disease known as strongyloidiasis. These worms affect between 30 and 100 million people worldwide (Bisoffi et al. 2013) with a higher prevalence in the tropics, subtropics and warmer temperate regions. Drugs such as ivermectin, albendazole and thiabendazole have been used in management of strongyloidiasis. The development of resistance towards these conventional drugs and overwhelming use of herbal drugs requires urgent need to standardize herbal drugs. Objectives: The general objective was to develop an anti-helminthic herbal syrup from aqueous extracts of the shoots of Oxygonum sinuatum and Hewittia sublobata against Strongyloides stercoralis. The specific objectives were to determine the anthelmintic activity of shoot extracts of Oxygonum sinuatum and Hewittia sublobata against Strongyloides stercoralis and to formulate a syrup from shoot extracts of Oxygonum sinuatum and Hewittia sublobata for management of strongyloidiasis. Methods: The plant extracts were obtained by decoction then evaporated to obtain a solid extract. The Strongyloides stercoralis was cultured and larvae at stage 3 were obtained and used. Different solutions of drugs were prepared and added onto glass slides already inoculated with Strongyloides stercoralis and monitored for 4 hours using microscopes under X5 magnification lens. The number of worms killed was counted. Results: The LD50 of the mixed extract was 28.089mg/ml. The extracts also contained polyphenols, tannins, flavonoids and saponins on phytochemical screening. A brown viscous syrup with a pleasant smell was formulated. Conclusion: Aqueous extract of a mixture of Oxygonum sinuatum and Hewittia sublobata kill Strongyloides stercoralis and these results support the use of these plants by traditional healers for treatment of worms.