Anthelmintic Efficacy and Oxidative Damage Related to the Relative Expression of the Hc29 gene (GPx family) on Haemonchus contortus Larvae After Exposure to the Artemisia cina n-Hexane Fraction

The objectives of this study were to assess the anthelmintic efficacy on infective H. contortus (L3) and to evaluate the relative expression of the Hc29 gene on stage four larvae (L4) after exposure to Artemisia cina n-hexane. The A. cina plant was separated into three fractions through high-performance liquid chromatography: n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol; the metabolites were identified by magnetic resonance. Lethal effect was evaluated on H. contortus L3 from each A. cina fraction at 1 and 2 mg/mL, and L4 was used to estimate the LD50-90 of n-hexane fraction/metabolite from 0.625 to 0.039 mg/mL. Expression of the Hc29 gene from H. contortus L4 was quantified by RT-qPCR exposed to 0.078 mg/mL of n-hexane fraction/metabolite, and Hanks media and H2O2 as controls. For the in vivo assay, six groups of five gerbils each were infected with H. contortus L3 and treated with A. cina extracts and controls as follows: a) n-hexane, b) ethyl acetate, c) methanol, d) ivermectin, and f) PBS. Five days after the treatment, all gerbils were necropsied and their stomachs were removed for nematode counting. In the in vitro and in vivo assays, 80% and 100% of L3/L4 with the A. cina n-hexane fraction had the highest anthelmintic efficacy (p 0.05) after being treated with A. cina n-hexane/metabolite and H2O2, respectively. We conclude that the A. cina n-hexane fraction has an anthelmintic effect, and this fraction contains metabolite compounds with potential antioxidant mechanisms to induce a lethal effect.