Anthelmintic and antimicrobial activity of methanolic and aqueous extracts of Euphorbia helioscopia L.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the anthelmintic and antimicrobial efficacy of Euphorbia helioscopia crude extracts. A worm motility inhibition assay and egg hatch assay were used for in vitro study, and a faecal egg count reduction assay was used for in vivo study. The in vitro study revealed anthelmintic effects of crude methanolic extracts of E. helioscopia on live Haemonchus contortus worms as evident from their paralysis and/or death at 8 h after exposure. Different concentrations (12.5 mg ml(-1), 25 mg ml(-1) and 50 mg ml(-1)) of aqueous and methanolic extracts were used against H. contortus which exhibited dose-dependent anthelmintic effects on H. contortus. Different extracts of E. helioscopia on percent inhibitory egg hatching was very low as compared to levamisole. The antimicrobial activity of extracts ranging from 100 to 500 mg ml(-1) screened by disc diffusion method against four selected bacterial (Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas multocida and Escherichia coli) and two fungal strains (Aspergillus flavus and Candida albicans) was also dose dependent with the extract showing more inhibitory effects against S. aureus and E. coli and a minimum inhibitory effect against A. flavus. It is concluded that the entire plant of E. helioscopia possesses significant anthelmintic and antimicrobial activity and could be a potential alternative for treating cases of helminth infections in ruminants.