Anthelmintic efficacy of Flemingia vestita: genistein-induced effect on the activity of nitric oxide synthase and nitric oxide in the trematode parasite, Fasciolopsis buski

The root-tuber peel of Flemingia vestita, an indigenous leguminous plant of Meghalaya (Northeast India), has usage in local traditional medicine as curative against worm infections. The peel and its active component, genistein, have been shown to cause flaccid paralysis, deformity of tegumental architecture and alterations in the activity of several enzymes in platyhelminth parasites. To investigate further the mode of action and anthelmintic efficacy of the plant-derived components, the crude peel extract of F. vestita and genistein were tested, hitherto for the first time, in respect of the unique neuronal messenger nitric oxide (NO) and the enzyme nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in Fasciolopsis buski, the large intestinal fluke of swine and human host. NADPH-diaphorase histochemical staining (a selective marker for NOS in neuronal tissues), which was demonstrable in the neuronal cell bodies in the cerebral ganglia, the brain commissure, the main nerve cords and in the innervation of the pharynx, ventral sucker, terminal genitalia and genital parenchyma of the parasite, showed a stronger activity in the treated worms. In biochemical analysis also, the NOS activity showed a significant increase in the parasites treated with the test materials and reference drug, compared to the untreated controls. The increase in NOS activity in the treated parasites can be attributed to an inducing effect of the plant-derived components.