Myracrodruon urundeuva seed exudates proteome and anthelmintic activity against Haemonchus contortus

PLoS One. 2018 Jul 19;13(7):e0200848. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0200848. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Seed exudates are plant-derived natural bioactive compounds consisting of a complex mixture of organic and inorganic molecules. Plant seed exudates have been poorly studied against parasite nematodes. This study was undertaken to identify proteins in the Myracrodruon urundeuva seed exudates and to assess the anthelmintic activity against Haemonchus contortus, an important parasite of small ruminants. M. urundeuva seed exudates (SEX) was obtained after immersion of seeds in sodium acetate buffer. SEX was fractionated with ammonium sulfate at 0-90% concentration to generate the ressuspended pellet (SEXF1) and the supernatant (SEXF2). SEX, SEXF1, and SEXF2 were exhaustively dialyzed against distilled water (cut-off: 12 kDa) and the protein contents determined. Mass spectrometry analyses of SEX, SEXF1, and SEXF2 were done to identify proteins and secondary metabolites. The seed exudates contained protease, protease inhibitor, peptidase, chitinase, and lipases as well as the low molecular weight secondary compounds ellagic acid and quercetin rhamnoside. SEX inhibited H. contortus larval development (LDA) (IC50 = 0.29 mg mL-1), but did not affect larval exsheathment (LEIA). On the other hand, although SEXF1 and SEXF2 inhibited H. contortus LEIA (IC50 = 1.04 and 0.93 mg mL-1, respectively), they showed even greater inhibition efficiency of H. contortus larval development (IC50 = 0.29 and 0.42 mg mL-1, respectively). To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to show the anthelmintic activity of plant exudates against a gastrointestinal nematode. Moreover, it suggests the potential of exuded proteins as candidates to negatively interfere with H. contortus life cycle.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anacardiaceae / chemistry*
  • Animals
  • Anthelmintics / chemistry
  • Anthelmintics / pharmacology
  • Haemonchus / drug effects*
  • Plant Extracts / chemistry*
  • Plant Extracts / pharmacology
  • Seeds / chemistry*

Substances

  • Anthelmintics
  • Plant Extracts

Grants and funding

The authors acknowledge the CNPq (The Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development) 447877/2014¬3, and FAPEMA (Maranhão State Research Foundation) PRONEM-01773/14, for financial support. We also thank CNPq for awarding a fellowship to L.M. Costa-Júnior and J. Perales. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.