In the Philippines, the practice of using herbal plants in treating livestock diseases such as fasciolosis is getting more popular due to rapid increase in cost and sometimes unavailability of anthelmintic drugs in the market.

Some serious disadvantages in using chemical dewormers may occur, which include drug resistance, chemical residue in meat and milk, environmental pollution, toxicity problems, failed snail control measures, and long withdrawal period prior to slaughter.

This, therefore, prompted researchers to conduct a study titled “The Effect of Betel Nut (Areca catechu) and Neem (Azadirachta indica) Leaf Extract on the Motility and Morphology of Liver Fluke (Fasciola spp.)”.

It was meant to measure the anthelmintic effects of plant extracts such as betel nut and neem leaf extracts against Fasciola spp. in vitro in comparison with the commercial dewormer Albendazole.

Fasciolosis is one of the most common parasitic bovine and bubaline diseases in the Philippines usually affecting livestock, wildlife, and pet animals. It is caused by Fasciola hepatica and Fasciola gigantica which occurs commonly in temperate and tropical regions, respectively.

This disease can result in confiscated liver, reduced milk yield, fertility and meat production, and can adversely affect wool quality and weight gain of the animal.

Currently, there are several effective controls of fasciolosis, such as strategic and tactile use of anthelmintic drugs and proper management of grazing lands, control of stocking rates, and appropriate rotational grazing strategies.

In order to measure the anthelmintic effects of plant extracts against Fasciola spp., live liver fluke specimens were collected directly from the liver of buffaloes bought at the slaughter house of San Jose City, Nueva Ecija.

Fresh mature betel nuts and neem leaf samples, on the other hand, were collected from Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte and Central Luzon State University, Nueva Ecija.

Right after collection, the flukes were immediately exposed to the different treatments. The motility of the flukes was recorded. Only flukes that exhibit motility by visual inspection and with normal gross morphologic tegument were selected.

The study determined the extract concentration that produced the highest efficacy based on the average recorded mean motility time, gross and microscopic changes of the flukes treated with different concentrations of plant extracts.

The researchers used eight treatments that consisted of 10%, 20%, 40% concentrations of both betel nut and neem leaf extracts. Positive control treatment (Albendazole- treated) and negative control treatment (25mL nutrient broth) were used.

The motility of the flukes on all treatments was based on the established motility criteria scoring: Score 3 – moving whole body; Score 2 – moving 50 % of the parts of the body; Score 1 – immobile but microscopically alive; Score 0 – dead. The flukes subjected to all treatments were processed for histopathological analysis.

It was revealed that after exposure of Fasciola spp. under 10%, 20%, and 40% extract concentrations, betel nut extract showed higher efficacy having the recorded mean motility time of 0.22 minute, 0.07 minute and no movement upon contact respectively than Albendazole, which is highly effective at 10% and produced 100% efficacy at an average mean motility time of 0.38 minutes of exposure.

The flukes treated with 10%, 20%, and 40% neem leaf extracts obtained the average mean motility time of 220 minutes, 151 minutes, and 98 minutes.

The results revealed that 40% betel nut extract concentration showed the highest efficacy based on the recorded mean motility time. All treatments of betel nut extract evidently showed marked changes in the gross and microscopic morphology of the flukes. However, neem extract was ineffective in all concentrations although changes were observed microscopically.

Researchers of the study suggested that future studies may also be conducted to consider the evaluation of the effect of both herbal plants on eggs of flukes and other helminths and determination of the lethal dose of the herbal plants for further in vivo trials.                  

The study also indicated that the plant extract that showed high anthelmintic activity against Fasciola spp. in vitro needs to be evaluated and tested in animal hosts. It may not serve as a sole alternative to anthelmintic drugs but as a part of an integrated approach, it is specifically designed to achieve a sustainable parasite control in animal production systems.            

Further studies were recommended to test and evaluate the efficacy of the plant extracts as composition of an anthelmintic drug and to evaluate the pharmacokinetic effect. Their toxic effect, however, needs to be addressed first before carrying out an extensive use in the field of veterinary medicine.

The study was conducted under the auspices of the Biosafety and Environment Section of the Philippine Carabao Center in collaboration with the College of Veterinary Science and Medicine of the Central Luzon State University. The researchers were Dr. Claro Mingala, Michelle Miguel, Paula Blanca Gaban, Elnalyn Yamson and Dr. Victoria Viloria.