Most drugs used in the treatment of helminthiasis in humans and animals have lost their efficacy due to the development of drug-resistance in helminths. Moreover, since anthelmintics, like many pharmaceuticals, are now recognized as hazardous contaminants of the environment, returning to medicinal plants and their products represents an environmentally friendly way to treat helminthiasis. The goal of the present study was to test the anthelminthic activity of methanol extracts of eight selected European ferns from the genera Dryopteris, Athyrium and Blechnum against the nematode Haemonchus contortus, a widespread parasite of small ruminants. Eggs and adults of H. contortus drug-susceptible strain ISE and drug-resistant strain WR were isolated from experimentally infected sheep. The efficacy of fern extracts was assayed using egg hatch test and adults viability test based on ATP-level measurement. Among the ferns tested, only Dryopteris aemula extract (0.2 mg/mL) inhibited eggs hatching by 25% in comparison to control. Athyrium distentifolium, Dryopteris aemula and Dryopteris cambrensis were effective against H. contortus adults. In concentration 0.1 mg/mL, A. distentifolium, D. aemula, D. cambrensis significantly decreased the viability of females from ISE and WR strains to 36.2%, 51.9%, 32.9% and to 35.3%, 27.0%, 23.3%, respectively in comparison to untreated controls. None of the extracts exhibited toxicity in precise cut slices from ovine liver. Polyphenol's analysis identified quercetin, kaempferol, luteolin, 3-hydroxybenzoic acid, caffeic acid, coumaric acid and protocatechuic acid as the major components of these anthelmintically active ferns.

• Keywords
• ATP-assay, Athyrium, Dryopteris, Natural anthelmintics, medicinal plants, nematodes,
• MeSH
• Anthelmintics * pharmacology   therapeutic use   MeSH
• Haemonchus * MeSH
• Helminthiasis * MeSH
• Ferns * MeSH
• Larva MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Sheep Diseases * drug therapy   parasitology   MeSH
• Sheep MeSH
• Plant Extracts pharmacology   MeSH
• Veterinary Drugs * pharmacology   MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Anthelmintics * MeSH
• Plant Extracts MeSH
• Veterinary Drugs * MeSH

Albendazole (ABZ), a widely used anthelmintic drug, enters the environment mainly via livestock excrements. To evaluate the environmental impact of ABZ, the knowledge of its uptake, effects and metabolism in all non-target organisms, including plants, is essential. The present study was designed to identify the metabolic pathway of ABZ and to test potential ABZ phytotoxicity in fodder plant alfalfa, with seeds and in vitro regenerants used for these purposes. Alfalfa was chosen, as it may meet manure from ABZ-treated animals in pastures and fields. Alfalfa is often used as a feed of livestock, which might already be infected with helminths. The obtained results showed that ABZ did not inhibit alfalfa seed germination and germ growth, but evoked stress and a toxic effect in alfalfa regenerants. Alfalfa regenerants were able to uptake ABZ and transform it into 21 metabolites. UHPLC-MS/MS analysis revealed three new ABZ metabolites that have not been described yet. The discovery of the parent compound ABZ together with the anthelmintically active and instable metabolites in alfalfa leaves shows that the contact of fodder plants with ABZ-containing manure might represent not only a danger for herbivorous invertebrates, but also may cause the development of ABZ resistance in helminths.

• Keywords
• UHPLC-MS/MS, anthelmintics, drug metabolism, drug phytotoxicity, drugs in the environment,
• MeSH
• Albendazole pharmacology   MeSH
• Anthelmintics pharmacology   MeSH
• Germination MeSH
• Animal Feed MeSH
• Medicago sativa drug effects   growth & development   metabolism   MeSH
• Metabolome * MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Albendazole MeSH
• Anthelmintics MeSH

In recent years interest has grown in the occurrence and the effects of pharmaceuticals in the environment. The aim of this work is to evaluate the risk of fertilizing crops with manure from livestock treated with anthelmintics. The present study was designed to follow the fate of the commonly used anthelmintic drug, ivermectin (IVM) and its metabolites in soybeans (Glycine max (L.) Merr.), a plant that is grown and consumed world-wide for its high content of nutritional and health-beneficial substances. In vitro plantlets and soybean plants, cultivated in a greenhouse, were used for this purpose. Our results showed the uptake of IVM and its translocation to the leaves, but not in the pods and the beans. Four IVM metabolites were detected in the roots, and one in the leaves. IVM exposure decreased slightly the number and weight of the beans and induced changes in the activities of antioxidant enzymes. In addition, the presence of IVM affected the proportion of individual isoflavones and reduced the content of isoflavones aglycones, which might decrease the therapeutic value of soybeans. Fertilization of soybean fields with manure from IVM-treated animals appears to be safe for humans, due to the absence of IVM in beans, the food part of plants. On the other hand, it could negatively affect soybean plants and herbivorous invertebrates.

• Keywords
• anthelmintics, antioxidant enzymes, biotransformation, drug metabolites, isoflavonoids,
• MeSH
• Antioxidants metabolism   MeSH
• Antiparasitic Agents pharmacology   MeSH
• Biological Transport MeSH
• Glycine max drug effects   growth & development   metabolism   MeSH
• Isoflavones metabolism   MeSH
• Ivermectin pharmacology   MeSH
• Plant Roots drug effects   growth & development   metabolism   MeSH
• Plant Leaves drug effects   growth & development   metabolism   MeSH
• Seeds drug effects   growth & development   metabolism   MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Antioxidants MeSH
• Antiparasitic Agents MeSH
• Isoflavones MeSH
• Ivermectin MeSH