Development a novel non-chemical approach that decrease the need for drug treatment, considered to be good realistic strategy to avoid the problem of drug resistance specially with using of biodegradable eco-friendly plant extracts.
Chenopodium ambrosioides (C. ambrosioides) is a weedy herb of the genus Chenopodium commonly known as Chenopodium oil. Its oil extract (rich by Ascaridole) has sedative, antifungal and pain reliving properties with documented anti-parasitic effects. In the present study the efficacy of different concentrations of chenopodium oil extract was evaluated as parasiticides versus Cryptosporidium parvum (C.parvum), Eimeria spp. oocysts and Hymenolepis diminuta (H.diminuta) in vitro and in vivo after induction of experimental infection in chicks and mice. The LD100 of the diluted extract was 200 ppm after 12 hours(h) versus C.parvum oocysts as the exposed stages failed to infect the mice after oral inoculation. The zygotes of Eimeria spp. oocysts were failed to sporulate after exposure to 200 ppm after 24h. The dose of 300 ppm succeeded to stop movement of H.diminuta onchospheres in the exposed eggs when examined under the microscope after 48h exposure time.
Per mouth administration of upgrade dose level of C. ambrosioides oil extract for 3-5 successive days induced marked reduction in the mean number of C.parvum and Eimeria spp. oocysts in experimental infected mice and two week old chicks. The reduction in diagnostic stages was increased with increasing the dose and replications. The oral dose of 112 mg/kg for 3 successive days was inducing 50% reduction (LD50) in the previously counted C.parvum oocysts infected mice while complete disappearance of the oocysts (LD100) was recorded after administration of 160 mg/kg for the same period. Higher dose as 180 mg/kg for 3 successive days were calculated as LD50 versus Eimeria spp. in experimentally infected chicks, while its LD100 was 250 mg/kg for 3 successive days also.
Complete eradication of the target parasites was recorded in control groups treated by amprolium 0.024% in drinking water for 3 days for chicks and after ingestion to 0.5 ml-1ml daily for 3 successive days in mice. Increasing the dose up to 400mg/kg for 5 successive days failed in expulsion or decreasing of the number of H.diminuta worms or eggs. No changes in the number of shed eggs or oocysts or in its vitality in control non exposed stages during all experiments.
In all cases no toxicity symptom was observed on the treated chicks and mice using the previous doses replications. Extraction of the active materials from this plant (Ascaridole) will be sharply reducing the previously recorded lethal doses versus these parasites in the future.