Vet World   Vol.13   April-2020  Article-30

Research Article

Veterinary World, 13(4): 812-820

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2020.812-820

Efficacy and safety of ethanolic Curcuma longa extract as a treatment for sand tampan ticks in a rabbit model

Sobhy Abdel-Shafy1, Abdullah D. Alanazi2, Hanan S. M. Gabr3, Ahmad M. Allam1, Hala A. A. Abou-Zeina1, Ragab A. Masoud4, Doaa E. Soliman5, and Mohammad Yahya Alshahrani6
1. Department of Parasitology and Animal Diseases, Veterinary Research Division, National Research Centre, Dokki, Giza, Egypt.
2. Department of Biological Science, Faculty of Science and Humanities, Shaqra University, P.O. Box 1040, Ad-Dawadimi 11911, Saudi Arabia.
3. Department of Zoology and Agricultural Nematology, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
4. Department of Tanning Materials and Leather Technology, Chemical Industry Research Division, National Research Centre, Dokki, Giza, Egypt.
5. Department of Entomology, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
6. Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 61413, Abha, 9088, Saudi Arabia.

Background and Aim: The soft tick Ornithodoros savignyi is distributed throughout Africa, including Egypt. It primarily attacks camels, cattle, donkeys, and cows; and rarely affects humans. This study evaluated the acaricidal efficacy of ethanolic Curcuma longa extract (Turmeric) on the second nymphs of O. savignyi and then investigated the safety of this herb in rabbits.

Materials and Methods: The nymphs were immersed in 10, 5, 2.5, 1.25, and 0.625 mg/ml ethanolic C. longa extract. An additional group was immersed in ethanol as a control. On the 1st, 7th, and 15th-day post-treatment, the mortality percentages, LC50 and LC95 were calculated. The ticks exposed to 10 mg/ml ethanol C. longa extract were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Three male New Zealand White rabbits were orally administered 2 ml (two doses) of 10 mg/ml ethanolic C. longa extract, and another three rabbits were orally given two doses of 2 ml of absolute ethanol as a negative control. Histopathological examination of the kidney and liver hematology and the kidney and liver function was performed. Chemical analysis of the extract was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).

Results: The LC50 and LC95 were 1.31 and 15.07, 1.07 and 8.56, and 0.81 and 6.97 mg/ml on the 1st, 7th, and 15th day, respectively. SEM revealed that mamillae and spots on the surfaces of the treated ticks were not discriminating except for some clefts on the surfaces. The histological examination, blood profile, and biochemical analyses revealed no significant differences between the treated and untreated rabbits (p>0.05). GC/MS analysis revealed 50 compounds, and curcumene and t umerone were found to be the major constituents of this ethanolic extract.

Conclusion: The ethanolic C. longa extract produced a strong acaricidal effect on the second nymph of O. savignyi, and it was safe to use in rabbits. Keywords: histopathology, scanning electron microscopy, soft ticks, tick control, turmeric.

Keywords: histopathology, scanning electron microscopy, soft ticks, tick control, turmeric.

How to cite this article: Abdel-Shafy S, Alanazi AD, Gabr HSM, Allam AM, Abou-Zeina HAA, Masoud RA, Soliman DE, Alshahrani MY (2020) Efficacy and safety of ethanolic Curcuma longa extract as a treatment for sand tampan ticks in a rabbit model, Veterinary World, 13(4): 812-820.

Received: 27-12-2019  Accepted: 03-04-2020     Published online: 29-04-2020

Corresponding author: Sobhy Abdel-Shafy   E-mail: aasobhy@yahoo.com

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2020.812-820

Copyright: Abdel-Shafy, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.