title: In vitro and In vivo anthelmintic activity of Nicotiana tabacum L. leaves against gastrointestinal nematodes of sheep.
abstract: The in vitro and in vivo anthelmintic activity of Nicotiana tabacum L. leaves was studied to rationalize its traditional use. Live Haemonchus contortus were used to assess the in vitro anthelmintic effect of a crude aqueous extract (CAE) and a methanol extract (CME) of N. tabacum. The in vitro inhibitory effect of both the extracts was evident from the paralysis and/or mortality of worms noted at 6 h post-exposure. For the in vivo studies, CAE and CME were administered in increasing doses (1.0-3.0 g/kg) to sheep naturally infected with mixed species of gastrointestinal nematodes. A maximum reduction of 73.6% in eggs per gram (EPG) of faeces was recorded on day 5 post-treatment with CME (3.0 g/kg) while the same dose of CAE showed a 49.4% reduction. Levamisole (7.5 mg/kg), a standard anthelmintic agent, showed a 99.6% reduction in EPG. These data show that the aqueous and methanol extracts of Nicotiana tabacum exhibit dose-dependent anthelmintic activity both in vitro and in vivo, thus justifying its use in the traditional medicine system of Pakistan.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Parasitology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan. zafaruaf@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Zafar
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Iqbal
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lateef
authors.forename: Abdul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jabbar
authors.forename: Muhammad Nabeel
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Ghayur
authors.forename: Anwarul Hassan
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Gilani
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000871:Anthelmintics / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D006189:Haemonchus / Q000187:drug effects*; D007978:Levamisole / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D000432:Methanol; D009349:Nematode Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000662:veterinary*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry; D012756:Sheep; D012757:Sheep Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000469:parasitology; D012997:Solvents; D013997:Time Factors; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D000871:Anthelmintics; D012997:Solvents; D014867:Water; D007978:Levamisole; D000432:Methanol