article · Pharmaceutics
Herniaria hemistemon is traditionally used in folk medicine, but research now shows its aerial parts contain bioactive compounds with therapeutic potential against parasitic infection. Chemical analysis of the plant extract revealed 37 phytocompounds, specifically flavonoids and phenolic acids. In tests on immunosuppressed mice infected with Cryptosporidium parvum, treatment with the extract significantly lowered parasite oocyst shedding in stool compared to untreated controls. A higher dosage of 200 mg/kg achieved the strongest antiparasitic effect, reaching 79 percent efficacy. It also led to notable improvements in the histopathology of both the liver and the small intestine. Complementary computer-modelling studies indicated that benzoic acid derivatives within the plant may inhibit the parasite enzyme lactate dehydrogenase, matching key binding interactions seen in existing reference inhibitors.
Cryptosporidiosis is a parasitic disease that causes severe gastrointestinal issues, especially in immunocompromised individuals. Current treatment choices are limited. Showing that compounds from a traditional medicinal plant can suppress the parasite and alleviate organ damage provides a promising basis for developing alternative, naturally derived antiparasitic therapeutics.
This work could inform the development of botanical pharmaceuticals or lead compounds for veterinary and human antiparasitic medicine. Pharmaceutical drug discovery teams and animal health firms are the primary prospective users. As the findings are based entirely on computational docking and early in vivo mouse trials, the technology is at an early research stage and remains distant from clinical use.
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Herniaria hemistemon J.Gay is widely used in folk medicine to treat hernia. The present study aimed to annotate the phytoconstituents of H. hemistemon aerial-part extract and investigate its in vivo anticryptosporidial activity. The chemical characterization was achieved via the LC–ESI–MS/MS technique resulting in the annotation of 37 phytocompounds comprising flavonoids and phenolic acids. Regarding the anticryptosporidial activity, fifty dexamethasone-immunosuppressed mice were separated into five groups: GI, un-infected (normal control); GII, infected but not treated (model); GIII, infected and received NTZ, the reference drug; GIV, infected and received H. hemistemon extract (100 mg/kg); and GV, infected and received H. hemistemon extract (200 mg/kg). When GIII, GIV, and GV were compared to GII, parasitological analyses displayed highly significant differences in the mean numbers of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in the stool between the different groups. GV demonstrated the highest efficacy of 79%. Histopathological analyses displayed improvement in the small intestine and liver pathology in the treated groups (GIII, IV, and V) related to the model (GII), with GV showing the highest efficacy. Moreover, the docking-based study tentatively highlighted the potential of benzoic acid derivatives as lactate dehydrogenase inhibitors. The docked compounds showed the same binding interactions as oxamic acid, where they established H-bond interactions with ARG-109, ASN-140, ASP-168, ARG-171, and HIS-195. To sum up, H. hemistemon is a promising natural therapeutic agent for cryptosporidiosis.
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DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15020415
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