Bioactivity of Areca catechu and Azadirachta indica seed oil against Bulinus sp, an intermediate host of Schistosoma haematobium

BackgroundSchistosomiasis is a parasitic disease transmitted by freshwater snail with infected Schistosoma parasites. The disease is endemic in many parts of Asia, Africa, and South America affecting people who are unable to avoid contact with water, either because of their profession or because of lack of reliable source of safe water for drinking, washing and bathing. MethodsSeed oil extract of Azadirachta indica and the aqueous and ethanol extracts of Areca catechu were tested on freshwater snails Bulinus sp. Bioassays were performed on adults and eggs of snails at varying concentrations (50, 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1600mg/L for the extracts of A. catechu and 1, 2.5, 5, 7 and 10mL/L for A. indica extract). ResultsThe result revealed that mortality increased with ascending concentration. There was significant difference in the molluscicidal activities of the three extracts (p < 0.05). Among the tested the plant extracts, A. indica seed oil showed the highest molluscicidal activity (100%) from 7 mL/L. Meanwhile, the lowest molluscicidal activity (2.5%) was found in the A. catechu aqueous extract. It was also observed that the potency of the extracts to inhibit egg hatching increases as the concentrations increased. ConclusionAzadirachta indica seed oil and the ethanolic extract of A. cathetu could be considered as a veritable means of controlling schistosomiasis vector. Also, in endemic areas where communities are likely to accept the use of local plants, the studied plants stand as good candidates to replace the conventional medicines which are expensive. Synopsis