Potential effect of the medicinal plants Calotropis procera. Ficus elastica and Zingiber officinale against Schistosoma mansoni in mice

Figures & data

Table 1. Phytochemical screening of selected plant extracts.

	C. procera stem latex	C. procera flowers	F. elastica stem latex	Zingiber officinale
Tannins	−	+	−	++
Flavonoids	−	++	−	+++
Saponins	−	−	−	++
Sterols	−	+	−	+
Terpenes	−	+	−	++
Alkaloids	−	−	−	+

− = not present.

+ = present in low concentration.

++ = present in moderately high concentration.

+++ = present in high concentration.

Table 2. Effect of C. procera stem latex and flower extracts oral administration (50 mg/kg for five consecutive days) on worm burden, egg count and the percentage of egg developmental stages (oogram pattern) in S. mansoni-infected mice 2-week post-treatment.

Animal groups	Total worms	Hepatic ova count × 10^3	Intestinal ova count × 10^3	% Total immature ova	% Mature ova	% Dead ova
Infected untreated (n = 5)	27.40 ± 1.21	14.81 ± 1.12	19.25 ± 1.35	54.96 ± 4.19	36.71 ± 4.05	8.33 ± 0.62
C. procera stem latex (n = 6)	24.67 ± 1.50	13.34 ± 1.81	18.03 ± 1.32	52.72 ± 0.94	38.82 ± 1.47	8.47 ± 1.11
C. procera flower (n = 6)	24.17 ± 1.25	13.04 ± 1.14	17.40 ± 1.40	52.69 ± 1.68	38.85 ± 1.16	8.47 ± 0.76

Values are expressed as means ± SEM.

n = Number of mice.

Table 3. Acute toxicity of the test plant extracts administered orally to mice.

Treatments	Dose (mg/kg)	D/T	Mortality latency (h)	Toxic symptoms
Control	–	0/6	–	None
C. procera stem latex	100, 200, 400, 800 and 1600	0/6 per dose × 5 doses (i.e. 0/30)	–	None
C. procera flower		0/6 per dose × 5 doses (i.e. 0/30)	–	None
Ficus elastica		0/6 per dose × 5 doses (i.e. 0/30)	–	None
Zingiber officinale		0/6 per dose × 5 doses (i.e. 0/30)	–	Hypoactivity

D/T = dead/treated mice; none = no toxic symptoms during the observation period; mortality latency = time to death (in days) after oral administration. Mice in each group were carefully examined for any signs of toxic (behavioral changes and mortality) for 14 days. Control group received drug vehicles.

Table 4. Effect of C. procera stem latex and flower, Ficus elastica and Zingiber officinale extracts oral administration (500 mg/kg for three consecutive days) on worm burden, ova count and the percentage of egg developmental stages (oogram pattern) in S. mansoni-infected mice 2-week post-treatment.

Animal groups	Total worms	Hepatic ova count × 10^3	Intestinal ova count × 10^3	% Total immature ova	% Mature ova	% Dead ova
Infected untreated (n = 7)	19.14 ± 1.45	16.47 ± 1.27	24.10 ± 1.95	53.14 ± 2.06	36.86 ± 2.30	10.00 ± 0.49
C. procera stem latex (n = 8)	17.25 ± 1.36 (9.87)	14.97 ± 1.46	21.84 ± 1.71	52.50 ± 1.93	38.13 ± 2.02	9.38 ± 0.75
C. procera flower (n = 8)	17.75 ± 0.77 (7.26)	15.19 ± 0.92	22.10 ± 0.86	54.38 ± 2.19	36.63 ± 1.83	9.00 ± 0.42
Ficus elastica (decora) (n = 8)	15.75 ± 1.25 (17.71)	13.13 ± 0.80	17.64 ± 1.70	55.25 ± 1.26	36.25 ± 1.31	8.50 ± 0.50
Zingiber officinale (ginger) (n = 8)	17.75 ± 0.82 (7.26)	16.75 ± 0.51	22.11 ± 2.68	55.00 ± 1.81	35.63 ± 1.39	9.38 ± 0.86

Values are expressed as means ± SEM.

n = Number of mice.

Numbers between parentheses indicate percentage reduction from infected control.

Table 5. Effect of C. procera stem latex and flower and Ficus elastica extracts oral administration (500 mg/kg for 3 days + ranitidine 30 mg/kg for 3 days) on total males, females and worm burden in S. mansoni-infected mice 2-week post-treatment.

Animal groups	Total males	Total females	Total couples	Total worms
Infected untreated (n = 8)	13.63 ± 0.75	11.75 ± 0.45	10.75 ± 0.67	25.38 ± 1.12
C. procera stem latex + ranitidine (n = 8)	7.50 ± 0.91***	6.38 ± 0.32***	5.50 ± 0.42***	13.88 ± 0.90*** (45.31)
C. procera flower + ranitidine (n = 8)	6.50 ± 0.89***	5.25 ± 0.77***	5.13 ± 0.79***	11.75 ± 1.42*** (53.70)
Ficus elastica + ranitidine (n = 8)	11.29 ± 0.57*	9.86 ± 0.77	9.71 ± 0.78	21.14 ± 1.16* (16.71)

Values are expressed as means ± SEM.

n = Number of mice.

Numbers between parentheses indicate percentage reduction from infected control.

*p < 0.05, ***p < 0.001 (significant difference compared with infected control group).

Figure 1. Effect of C. procera stem latex and flower and Ficus elastica extracts oral administration (500 mg/kg for 3 days + ranitidine 30 mg/kg for 3 days) on hepatic and intestinal tissue egg loads in S. mansoni-infected mice 2-week post-treatment. Values are expressed as means ± SEM. *p < 0.05 (significant difference compared with infected control group).

Figure 2. Effect of C. procera stem latex and flower and Ficus elastica extracts oral administration (500 mg/kg for 3 days + ranitidine 30 mg/kg for 3 days) on the percentage of egg developmental stages (oogram pattern) in S. mansoni-infected mice 2-week post-treatment. Values are expressed as means ± SEM. **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001 (significant difference compared with infected control group).