Investigating the Efficacy of Herbal Medicinals on Parasitic Worm Infections

Overview

Herbal remedies have been used to treat parasitic worm infections. Lady’s-slipper roots (LSR) as well as black walnut hull extract (juglone) are herbal remedies for roundworm infection. This study investigated the effectiveness of these herbal treatments in killing the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Three LSR extracts were prepared for testing from plants grown in our lab in sterile tissue culture: a dried-root water extract, a fresh-root water extract and a fresh-root alcohol extract. All three were prepared by grinding roots using a mortar and pestle. Because alcohol kills worms, the alcohol extract was evaporated and re-suspended in sterile tap water. All preparations were passed through a cell strainer to remove debris. We also tested a commercial Lady’s slipper root water extract. Two juglone extracts were made: a strained decoction or tea of 500 mg of juglone powder heated and steeped in 50 ml of sterile tap water, and a strained tincture from 1 gram of juglone dissolved in 10 ml 70% ethanol. Additionally, a commercial Juglone water extract was tested. The nematocide ivermectin and 70% ethanol were used as positive controls and sterile tap water was used as a negative control. Two techniques were used to expose C. elegans to the extracts: flooding the culture plates with extracts and adding the extracts to the culture medium. Worm survival was monitored with a stereo microscope at 30-40x magnification. Chemotaxis experiments were also performed to explore avoidance or attraction to the extracts. No observable difference from controls in either survival or behavior was found for all LSR extracts. LSR chemotaxis showed no avoidance or attraction. With all preparations of juglone, flooding the plates with the extracts was not as effective at killing worms as mixing the extracts into the medium. The commercial preparation of juglone showed a dose-response pattern of death rate of 100% at the highest concentration, 92% at ½ strength, 25% at ¼ strength, and 8.33% at 1/8th strength. Ivermectin was lethal to the worms at 0.005 g in 10 ml of ethanol. Seventy percent ethanol was also lethal to the worms. These results suggest that juglone might be an effective alternative treatment for roundworm infections to drugs such as ivermectin and a thorough examination of juglone’s effectiveness and side effects in mammals should be investigated.

Competition history

• AJAS 2019 Category not listed

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