Phytochemical analysis and anthelmintic activity of Andrographis paniculata, Azadirachta indica, and Litsea elliptica leaves extracts against Caenorhabditis elegans.

Despite the challenges posed by multi-drug resistance in synthetic anthelmintics, the potential of plant extracts as an alternative helminth control option offers a ray of hope. The current study, conducted with meticulous care and thoroughness, delves into the anthelmintic activity of crude water and ethanol extracts of three plant species, Andrographis paniculata (Hempedu Bumi), Azadirachta indica (Neem), and Litsea elliptica (Pawas), against the nematode, C. elegans. The preparation of water and ethanol extracts from the three plants involved maceration and ultrasonic methods, respectively. Phytochemical screening was conducted to identify the active compounds in both extracts, followed by determining the total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid contents (TFC) using the corresponding Folin-Ciocalteau and aluminum colorimetric methods. The percentage yields of water extracts were 15.10%, 13.11%, and 9.55%, and ethanol extracts were 9.78%, 2.94%, and 15.50% for A. paniculata, A. indica, and L. elliptica, respectively. All extracts tested positive for alkaloids, steroids, terpenoids, protein, and carbohydrates. In water extract, A. indica exhibited the highest total phenolic (TPC) and total flavonoid (TFC) contents of 58.38 ± 0.005 mg GAE/g and 18.68 ± 0.005 mg QE/g, respectively. In contrast, in ethanol extract, L. elliptica exhibited the highest TPC and TFC of 122.67 ± 0.398 mg GAE/g and 96.69 ± 0.027 mg QE/g, respectively. L. elliptica ethanol extract appeared to induce the most pronounced effect on reducing head thrashing activity compared to other extracts in C. elegans. Both water and ethanol extracts of A. indica and L. elliptica exhibited significant mortality in all examined concentrations with maximum mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]