In Vitro Anthelmintic Effect of Ferula assa-foetida Hydroalcoholic Extract Against Flukes of Fasciola hepatica and Dicrocoelium dendriticum

Dicrocoeliasis and fascioliasis are foodborne parasitic diseases of the biliary tract, resulting from Dicrocoelium dendriticum and Fasciola hepatica causing extensive financial losses and serious health problems in ruminants. Due to low-performance medications, drug delivery is a tremendous project to improve interventions available for these diseases.

This study aimed to determine the anthelmintic properties of Ferula assa-foetida extract against F. hepatica and D. dendriticum using in vitro assay.

The effects of diverse concentrations of F. assa-foetida extract (400 - 1000 µg/mL) for 12-24 hours were examined for the treatment of D. dendriticum and F. hepatica. The anthelmintic efficacies were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The MTT assay was carried out to evaluate the cell viability of all cells in culture media.

The SEM images of treated worms by F. assa-foetida extract (200 µg/mL) confirmed excessive damage, which included an entire lack of sensory papillae and destruction of distinguished network structures and tegument vesicles. Variables of duration and concentration presented a considerable effect on both the mortality rate and the anthelmintic properties of F. assa-foetida; accordingly, as the time and concentration increased, the mortality rate became higher. Based on the MTT assay, the toxicity of F. assa-foetida at 800 µg/mL concentration was 8.7%. Therefore, it can be argued that F. assa-foetida had anthelmintic properties.

This is the first study that evaluated the impact of F. assa-foetida on liver flukes of D. dendriticum and F. hepatica. Therefore, it paved the way for further studies on the control of those trematodes. It is recommended to document and look into the indigenous understanding of viable medicinal plants to provide evidence for their use.