The anthelmintic effects of the leaf extract of Ocimum gratissimum (L.).

The leaf extract (F005) of Ocimum gratissimum was isolated by a bioassay-guided chromatographic separation technique using the brine shrimp lethality test assay. The effects of various concentrations (0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, and 8.0 mg/ml) of F005 were tested in vitro on infective larvae (L(3)) of Haemonchus contortus and Heligmosomoides polygyrus. Cockerels experimentally infected with Ascaridia galli infective eggs were also treated with various doses (500, 1000, and 1500 mg/kg) of F005 in vivo. F005 produced 15% and 16.6% paralysis of H. contortus and H. polygyrus larvae, respectively, at 8 mg/ml. It induced significant anthelmintic effect in chicks infected with A. galli in a dose-dependent manner with 1,500 mg/kg producing the highest effect (55.8%).