Anticestodal Efficacy of Acacia Oxyphylla on Raillietina Echinobothrida: a Light and Electron Microscopic Studies

An ethanolic extract from the stem bark of Acacia oxyphylla, an indigenous anthelmintic plant among the Mizo tribes of north-east India, was tested in vitro to determine its anthelmintic activity on the fowl gastrointestinal cestode, Raillietina echinobothrida. The parasites were treated with varying concentrations, viz, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 mg ml of the plant extract. On assessment of the motility and mortality of the worms, a dose-dependent efficacy of the plant extract was clearly discernible. Light microscopy revealed distinct tissue damage in the subtegument and somatic muscle layer. In the scanning electron microscopy, extensive distortion and destruction on the surface fine topography of the tegument were evident. Thus, the present experiment provides the plausibility of A. oxyphylla stem bark as an anthelmintic agent.