Chemical Composition, Apoptotic Activity, and Antiparasitic Effects of Ferula macrecolea Essential Oil against Echinococcus granulosus Protoscoleces

Abstract

Background: Today, the present protoscolicidals used to minimize the serious risks during hydatid cyst surgery are not completely safe and have various adverse side effects. The present study aimed to evaluate the chemical composition and apoptotic activity of Ferula macrecolea essential oil (FMEO) as well as its in vitro and ex vivo protoscolicidal effects against hydatid cyst protoscoleces. Methods: Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis was performed to determine the chemical composition of FMEO. Protoscoleces of hydatid cysts were collected from liver fertile hydatid cysts of infected sheep and were then treated with various concentrations of the essential oil (75, 150, and 300 µL/mL) for 5–60 min in vitro and ex vivo. Then, by using the eosin exclusion test, the viability of the protoscoleces was studied. The caspase-3-like activity of the FMEO-treated protoscoleces was also evaluated through the colorimetric protease assay Sigma Kit based on the manufacturer’s instructions. Results: According to GC/MS, the main constituents of the essential oil were terpinolene (77.72%), n-nonanal (4.47%), and linalool (4.35%), respectively. In vitro, the maximum protoscolicidal activity of FMEO was observed at the concentrations of 150 and 300 µL/mL, such that 100% of the protoscoleces were killed after 30 and 20 min of exposure, respectively. Based on the obtained findings, the results demonstrate that FMEO required a longer time to kill protoscoleces ex vivo; after 12 min of exposure to FMEO, only 13.4% of the protoscoleces remained alive. After 48 h of the treatment of protoscoleces, FMEO, in a dose-dependent manner and at doses of 75, 150, and 300 µL/mL, induced the activation of the caspase enzyme by 24.3, 35.3, and 48.3%, respectively. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate the potent protoscolicidal effects of FMEO in vitro and ex vivo; however, further studies are required to assess the safety and the efficiency of FMEO as a promising scolicidal agent in a preclinical model and clinical setting.

Chemical composition, antileishmanial, and cytotoxic effects Ferula macrecolea essential oil against Leishmania tropica

“…Moreover, in a study carried out by Khanmohammadi et al (2014), the methanol extract of F. szowitsiana displayed potent antiparasitic effects against trophozoites of Trichomonas vaginalis with an IC 50 value of 0.360 mg/mL ( Khanmohammadi et al, 2014 ). Recently, Alyousif et al (2021) reported that F. macrecolea essential oil displayed effective in vitro and ex vivo protoscolicidal activity against Echinococcus granulosus protoscoleces and completely eliminated the protoscoleces at the concentrations of 150 and 300 μL/mL ( Alyousif et al, 2021 ).…”

Discrimination of the Essential Oils Obtained from Four Apiaceae Species Using Multivariate Analysis Based on the Chemical Compositions and Their Biological Activity

“…Similar results could be noticed with these classes in many Ferula species. For instance, terpinolene (77.62%) was the major component in F. macrecolea [ 15 ], while β-pinene (60.84%) was the predominant metabolite in F. gummosa [ 16 ]. In F. tunetana , α-pinene (39.8%) was the main component [ 17 ] and α-thujene (13.5%) is present in the highest concentration in F. tingitana [ 18 ].…”

Therapeutic Potential and Safety of the Cinnamomum zeylanicum Methanolic Extract Against Chronic Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Mice

“…The helium flow rate was 1 ml/min with a 70 eV ionization voltage. The compositions were identified through the evaluation of the retention times and mass spectra with those of the WILEY 09 and NIST 11 mass spectral databases ( Adams, 2004 ; NIST, N., 2014 ; Alyousif et al., 2021 ).…”