Anthelmintic Activities of Extract and Ellagitannins from Phyllanthus urinaria against Caenorhabditis elegans and Zoonotic or Animal Parasitic Nematodes

The aerial parts of Phyllanthus urinaria are used in traditional medicine in West Africa against helminthiasis, but their anthelmintic potential has not been evaluated until now. Within the current study, a hydroacetonic extract (AWE) and fractions and isolated ellagitannins from P. urinaria were, therefore, tested in vitro against Caenorhabditis elegans and the larvae of the animal parasites Toxocara canis, Ascaris suum, Ancylostoma caninum, and Trichuris suis. Compounds 1  -  13, mainly representing ellagitannins, were isolated using different chromatographic methods, and their structures were elucidated by HR-MS and ¹H/ ¹³C-NMR. AWE exerted concentration-dependent lethal effects (LC ₅₀of 2.6 mg/mL) against C. elegans and inhibited larval migration of all animal parasites tested (T. suis L1 IC ₅₀24.3 μg/mL, A. suum L3 IC ₅₀35.7 μg/mL, A. caninum L3 IC ₅₀112.8 μg/mL, T. canis L3 IC ₅₀1513.2 μg/mL). The anthelmintic activity of AWE was mainly related to the polar, tannin-containing fractions. Geraniin 1, the major ellagitannin in the extract, showed the strongest anthelmintic activity in general (IC ₅₀between 0.6 and 804 μM, depending on parasite species) and was the only compound active against A. caninum (IC ₅₀of 35.0 μM). Furosin 9 was least active despite structural similarities to 1. Among the parasites tested, Trichuris suis L1 larvae turned out to be most sensitive with IC ₅₀of 0.6, 6.4, 4.0, 4.8, and 2.6 μM for geraniin 1, repandusinic acid A 3, punicafolin 8, furosin 9, and phyllanthusiin A 10, respectively.