Global Veterinary Summit

Biography

Biography: Teka Feyera

Abstract

African trypanosomiasis has continued to threaten health and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa and current chemotherapeutic options are far from ideal. The continued search for alternative compounds against the disease prompted evaluation of Artemisia abyssinica for anti-trypanosomal potential. The study aimed at screening the hydro methanolic and dichloromethane (DCM) crude extracts of aerial parts of the plant in vitro and in vivo for anti-trypanosomal activity against Trypanosoma congolense field isolate. In vitro assay was conducted by incubating mixture of infected blood and extracts at concentrations of 4, 2 and 0.4 mg/ml coupled with infectivity test in which mixture of infected blood and extracts was inoculated to mice. In these combined assays, reduction or cessation of parasite motility coupled with loss of infectivity to mice of infected blood incubated with extracts was taken as measure of anti-trypanosomal activity. The in vivo anti-trypanosomal efficacy of the crude extracts was evaluated in Swiss albino mice of both sexes experimentally infected with T. congolense field isolate. The plant extracts at 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg were administered intra peritoneally daily for 7 days in an established infection of 107.03 trypanosomes/ml. Diminazene aceturate was used as positive control, and distilled water as negative. The level of parasitaemia, body weight, packed cell volume; differential leukocyte counts and mean survival period were monitored. The in vitro assay evidenced that the DCM extract had immobilized trypanosomes after 18 and 40 minutes of incubation at 4 and 2 mg/ml, respectively while the hydro methanolic extract caused motility to cease after 35 minutes only at concentration of 4 mg/ml. In the infectivity test, only 4 mg/ml of DCM extract caused loss of infectivity of the parasites to mice. The in vivo study showed that the DCM extract at 200 and 400 mg/kg, and the hydro methanolic extract at 400 mg/kg reduced parasitaemia (p<0.05), ameliorated anaemia (p<0.05), prevented body weight loss (p<0.05) and modified (p<0.05) differential lymphocyte and neutrophil counts compared to the negative control. Relapse to Diminazene aceturate was also recorded. Consequently, the high activity values obtained render the plant to be a potential candidate for development of new lead against African trypanosomiasis.