LAUSR

Haemonchus contortus is an important gastrointestinal parasite of ruminants, which causes anaemia, submandibular oedema, progressive weight loss, weakness and the death of infected animals. This study evaluates the in vitro ovicidal and larvicidal activity of Icacina trichantha leaf crude extract and fractions against the parasite H. contortus eggs and larvae. Phytochemical analysis of the crude extract was carried out using standard procedures to determine the metabolites contained in the plant. The in vitro anthelmintic activity of the crude extract and fractions was determined using egg hatch inhibition assay (EHA) and larval development inhibition assay (LDA), while albendazole was the positive control. The extract of I. trichantha leaves inhibited hatching of eggs and larval development of H. contortus in a dose graded response. The concentrations of 0.78, 1.56, 3.12, 6.25 and 12.5 mg/ml of the crude extract and fractions showed the positive inhibitory effects of the ovicidal and larvicidal on H. contortus, and this compared positively with the anthelmintic activity of albendazole. At the concentration of 12.5 mg/ml, the crude extract, fractions and albendazole produced 100% ovicidal and larvicidal inhibitory effects on H. Contortus, except for n-butanol and ethyl acetate fractions, which inhibited 98% and 99.8% of egg hatching and larval development, respectively. However, the crude extract and fractions’ activity compared statistically with albendazole, with no significant (p>0.05) difference. Therefore, the results obtained from this study showed that all the tested extracts possess anthelmintic compounds that warrant further in vivo evaluation for safety and toxicity profiles.