Efficacy of arecoline hydrobromide against cattle tick Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus

ABSTRACT

The objective of the present study was to determine the efficacy of arecoline hydrobromide against Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus. Larval packet test (LPT) was performed on larvae produced from collected ticks. Adult immersion test (AIT) was performed to determine live tick weight, the mortality of ticks, and inhibition of oviposition and hatching after arecoline application. Arecoline was taken in different concentrations (i.e. 0.1, 0.5, 1.5, 2.5 5, 7.5, 10 and 12.5 mg/mL) to evaluate its acaricidal activity. The result of LPT exhibited 100% mortality of larvae at 12.5 mg/mL concentration of arecoline. AIT results showed that arecoline caused 87.90% mortality in its highest dose, reduction of egg weight (0.031 g) and excessively reduced hatch rates (2.03%) in ticks as compared to the control group. The level of protective enzymes (SOD and GST) was found to decrease when a reduction in the activity of MAO and AChE enzymes were achieved. It can be concluded from the study that arecoline possess significant acaricidal and oxidative stress-inducing activities in the cattle tick R. microplus. It can be developed as an herbal acaricide in place of synthetic drugs that harm living beings and the environment.

KEYWORDS:

• Areca catechu
• larval packet test
• adult immersion test
• acetylcholine
• oxidative stress

Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to the Columbia Institute of Pharmacy for providing all facilities required during the work. We extending our thanks to the dairy owner for providing ticks required for evaluating the efficacy of the drug. We also show our gratitude towards Probecell: Scientific writing services for proofreading, English language editing, and grammatical corrections.

Disclosure statement

The authors declared no conflict of interest.