Toxocara canis: Potential activity of natural products against second-stage larvae in vitro and in vivo

The anthelmintic activity of extracts from Chenopodium ambrosioides, Pycnanthus angolensis and Nutridesintox (R) was in vitro and in vivo investigated, against Toxocara canis larvae. The in vitro assays results showed that the aqueous extract of Nutridesintox (R) was the most effective, followed by C. ambrosioides extracts, hexane, dichloromethane and the infusion. P. angolensis extracts showed a lower anthelmintic activity compared to the other natural products. For the in vivo assays, Nutridesintox (R), the hexane extract and the infusion of C. ambrosioides were administered orally to T. canis-infected mice, in single doses, during three consecutive days. The efficacy was evaluated on the 17th day post-infection, not only by counting T. canis larvae in the tissues but also by ELISA detection of IgM and IgG antibodies and histological analysis of liver and lungs. The different treatments did not reduce the larvae burden and had no influence on the antibodies dynamic. Interestingly, a reduction on the inflammatory infiltrates was observed in the liver and lung sections of the group treated with the hexane extract of C. ambrosioides. In conclusion, the hexane extract of C. ambrosioides is of further research interest, as it showed an anthelmintic activity in vitro and a reduction on the inflammatory reaction produced by the infection of T. cants larvae in vivo. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.