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 1 H/ 13 C-NMR. AWE exerted concentration-dependent lethal effects (LC 50 of 2.6 mg/mL) against C. elegans and inhibited larval migration of all animal parasites tested ( T. suis L1 IC 50 24.3 µg/mL, A. suum L3 IC 50 35.7 µg/mL, A. caninum L3 IC 50 112.8 µg/mL, T. canis L3 IC 50 1513.2 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 50 between 0.6 and 804 µM, depending on parasite species) and was the only compound active against A. caninum (IC 50 of 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 50 of 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.