PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND IN VITRO EFFECT OF WATERY TRITURATED EXTRACT OF MITRAGYNA INERMIS (WILLD.) KUNTZ (RUBIACEAE) ON HAEMONCHUS CONTORTUS

Mitragyna inermis is a plant widely used by breeders in the control of small ruminants. The objective of this study is to evaluate the anthelmintic properties of the watery triturated extract of the leaves of this plant on Haemonchus contortus, a severe parasite of small ruminants in Benin. The best results are obtained with the inhibition of larval migration and motility of adult worms. The watery triturated extract of the plant ignificantly inhibited larval migration (p < 0.001) and motility of adult worms (p < 0.001) in H. contortus. This justifies these anthelmintic properties in vitro. Phytochemical screening reveals the presence of some secondary metabolites such as: polyphenols, flavonoids and condensed tannins. The toxicity study indicates that the triturated extract is not toxic in vitro on Artemia salina larvae with a lethal concentration greater than 0.1 mg/ml. The success of purification tests of the extract would be more important to characterize the active ingredients for the properties recognized by breeders.