Anticoccidial activity of Artemisia vestita (Anthemideae, Asteraceae) - a traditional herb growing in the Western Himalayas, Kashmir, India
Introduction
Artemisia vestita belonging to genus Artemisia, a medicinally important genus; the members of which are known to have therapeutic properties [1], [2], [3]. Genus Artemisia, commonly known as mugwort or sage brush, is the largest and most diverse genus of the tribe Anthemideae [4]. The genus Artemisia comprises of more than 500 species [5] mainly found in Asia, Europe and North America. Asia seems to represent the greatest number of these species with 150 species found in China, 174 species in the ex USSR, about 50 species reported to occur in Japan, 35 species are found in Iran and 37 species are found in India mostly confined to the North Western Himalayas [6], [7], [8]. In India, 32 species have been reported so far [9]. Many Artemisia species have a high economic value, used as food plants and as anthelmintic and antimalarial in medicine [2], [10]. Phytochemical studies on A. vestita have revealed that the plant contains a number of flavones, monoterpenes and sesquiterpenoids [11], [12], [13]. Chemical investigation of the plant has led to the isolation of 12 known sesquiterpenes, including 2 furan-containing sesquiterpenoids and 10 eudesmane sesquiterpene lactones [14]. Besides the essential oil of this plant is a rich source of pharmaceutically important compounds, dominantly present among those are 1,8-cineole (46.8%), (E)-citral (13.7%), limonene (9.8%), a-phellandrene (6.4%), camphor (5.0%), (Z) and (E)-thujones (3.0% each) [15].
Artemisia vestita Wall. ex Besser, 1834 is a perennial herb commonly known as Russian Wormwood. It is an erect shrubby perennial up to 2 m tall with grooved stems. Leaves are twice pinnately cut, fern-like, upper surface softly hairy, lower white hairy. Flower-heads hang nodding in long compound hairy, 6–10 flowered racemes. The species is distributed along the hills, rocky slopes, grasslands, shrublands and outer forest margins in the Western Himalaya at elevations of 2100–3000 m [16]. The plants bloom from August to September.
The medicinal value of genus Artemisia has been known to the Chinese for at least 2000 years. In 1596, Li Shizhen recommended tea made from qing hao specifically to treat malaria symptoms. The name of the genus “Artemisia” eventually derives from the Greek goddess Artemis (Roman Diana), the namesake of Greek Queens Artemisia I and II [17] and, more specifically, may have been named after Queen Artemisia II of Caria, a botanist and medical researcher in the fourth century BC [18]. A. vestita has been widely used in traditional Tibetan and Chinese medicine for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, contact dermatitis and sepsis [19]. In Kashmir valley this plant commonly called “Tethe-Ven” is used by tribal people for treatment of parasitic infections. In view of its traditional importance we investigated the action of different solvent extracts of this plant on experimentally induced coccidial infection in broiler chicken.
Worldwide, the poultry industry spends a significant amount of money in the prevention and treatment of several diseases. In an industry that raises approximately 40 billion chickens annually, avian coccidiosis caused by several species of the protozoan parasite Eimeria represents a serious disease that results in annual global economic losses of approximately $2.4 billion, including production losses and disease prevention and treatment costs [20], [21], [22]. Among them, cecal coccidiosis caused by E. tenella, is the most important parasitic disease that requires continuous prophylactic treatment [23]. This parasite invades cecum of the intestine, causing severe damage in birds and as a result contributes to significant economic losses. The use of several drugs, alone or in combination, has proven to be an effective alternative in the struggle against avian coccidiosis. However, the emergence of drug resistant strains, especially after a prolonged use of a drug, is a real problem [24], [25]. Therefore, attempts are being made to identify new antiparasitic agents by pharmacological screening of medicinal plants and their products for safe and effective management of coccidian parasites [26], [27], [28], [29], [30], [31], [32], [33], [34].
Section snippets
Collection and identification of plant material
Artemisia vestita was obtained from Sonamarg Ganderbal, Jammu and Kashmir and identified at Centre for Biodiversity and Plant Taxonomy, Department of Botany, University of Kashmir, Srinagar. Voucher specimen (2379-KASH) was also deposited in KASH (Kashmir University Herbarium) for future reference.
Preparation of extracts
Freshly collected plant material showing no symptoms of disease or decay was collected in polythene bags, firstly washed with distilled water and processed for shade drying in a well ventilated room
Results
Results showed the tremendous efficacy of A. vestita in controlling the coccidian parasites in comparison to the standard drug amprolium. Among the extracts CME tested at 300 mg/kg body weight was the most effective as evident by oocyst count per gram of faeces (Table 1), body weight gain (Table 2) and feed conversion ratio (Table 3). Different doses (100–400 mg/kg body weight) of the CME of A. vestita (the most active extract found during the study) showed a dose dependent anticoccidial effect
Discussion
Coccidiosis is caused by Eimerian parasites which invade the intestinal lining of avian hosts causing tissue pathology, poor weight gain, and in some cases mortality. Failures to control coccidiosis in commercial broiler production may have various reasons, drug resistance being one of them [40]. In spite of the advances in pharmacological industry, chicken coccidiosis remains one of the greatest threats for poultry productivity [41]. Traditional approaches for controlling coccidiosis aim to
Conflict of interest
The authors declare there are no known conflicts of interest associated with this publication. We confirm that we have given due consideration to the protection of intellectual property associated with this work and that there are no impediments to publication, including the timing of publication, with respect to intellectual property. In so doing we confirm that we have followed the regulations of our institutions concerning intellectual property.
Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to the Head, Department of Zoology and Director, Centre of Research for Development, University of Kashmir for providing the laboratory and animal house facilities for successful completion of the work.
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