Fadjar Satrija

Anthelmintic activity of papaya latex against patent Heligmosomoides polygyrus infections in mice.

The purpose of this experiment was to study the possible anthelmintic activity of papaya latex (Carica papaya) against Heligmosomoides polygyrus in experimentally infected mice. Five groups of BALB/C mice were infected with 100 Heligmosomoides polygyrus infective larvae/mouse. After patency (day 22) four groups of mice (groups B, C, D and E) were given papaya latex suspended in water at dose levels of 2, 4, 6 and 8 g of papaya latex/kg body weight, respectively. One group of mice (group A) served as non-treated controls. All animals were necropsied on day 25, i.e. 3 days after treatment, for post-mortem worm counts. The papaya latex showed an antiparasitic efficacy of 55.5, 60.3, 67.9 and 84.5% in groups B, C, D and E, respectively. The results may suggest a potential role of papaya latex as an anthelmintic against patent intestinal nematodes of mammalian hosts.

The phylogeography of Indoplanorbis exustus (Gastropoda: Planorbidae) in Asia

BackgroundThe freshwater snail Indoplanorbis exustus is found across India, Southeast Asia, central Asia (Afghanistan), Arabia and Africa. Indoplanorbis is of economic importance in that it is responsible for the transmission of several species of the genus Schistosoma which infect cattle and cause reduced livestock productivity. The snail is also of medical importance as a source of cercarial dermatitis among rural workers, particularly in India. In spite of its long history and wide geographical range, it is thought that Indoplanorbis includes only a single species. The aims of the present study were to date the radiation of Indoplanorbis across Asia so that the factors involved in its dispersal in the region could be tested, to reveal potential historical biogeographical events shaping the phylogeny of the snail, and to look for signs that I. exustus might be polyphyletic.ResultsThe results indicated a radiation beginning in the late Miocene with a divergence of an ancestral bulinine lineage into Assam and peninsular India clades. A Southeast Asian clade diverged from the peninsular India clade late-Pliocene; this clade then radiated at a much more rapid pace to colonize all of the sampled range of Indoplanorbis in the mid-Pleistocene.ConclusionsThe phylogenetic depth of divergences between the Indian clades and Southeast Asian clades, together with habitat and parasitological differences suggest that I. exustus may comprise more than one species. The timescale estimated for the radiation suggests that the dispersal to Arabia and to Southeast Asia was facilitated by palaeogeographical events and climate change, and did not require human involvement. Further samples from Afghanistan, Africa and western India are required to refine the phylogeographical hypothesis and to include the African Recent dispersal.

Current status of schistosomiasis in Indonesia

Schistosomiasis japonica is currently endemic in three very isolated areas in Central Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. Integrated schistosomiasis control programmes implemented in the Lindu and Napu Valleys during the period of 1982-2005 have successfully reduced the prevalence of schistosomiasis from 37% to 1% in Napu Valley and from 37% to 0.6% in Lindu Valley. Human prevalence surveys reveal that the prevalence tended to increase during the period of 2008-2011. The average prevalence fluctuated between 0.3% and 4.8% in Napu Valley and between 0.8% and 3.2% in Lindu Valley. During this period, the percentage of rats that were infected fluctuated between 7.9% and 18.2% in Napu Valley and between 6.7% and 9.8% in Lindu Valley. The average percentage of infected snails was 2.6% and 2.1% in the Napu and Lindu Valleys, respectively. In 2008, schistosomiasis was also found in a separate but adjacent place, i.e. Bada Valley. The prevalence of schistosomiasis in endemic villages in this area was 0.8% in 2008 and 5.9% in 2010, while the percentage of infected snails was 1% in 2010. These contemporary data clearly indicate a trend of increasing schistosomiasis prevalence in the three endemic areas in Central Sulawesi.

A study of inoculation route and dosage levels on embryonated chicken eggs as media for testing tea mistlestoe (Scurrula oortiana) extract activity

Tea mistlestoe extract ( Scurrula oortiana ) has cytotoxic activity which is potential to be used in preventing viral induced-chicken tumor. The following study was designed to evaluate the effects of different inoculation routes, dosage levels, and strains of embryonated chicken eggs as media for testing the tea mistlestoe extract ( Scurrula oortiana ) antiviral activity. Proper inoculation route was examined by inoculation of the extract at dose level of 0,2 mg/egg into embryonated layer eggs via allantoic cavity, chorio-allantoic membrane, and yolk sac. Effect of dose level of tea mistlestoe extract on embryo development was examined in groups of embryonated broiler eggs inoculated with the extract at 0.02, 0.2, 2, 20, or 200 mg/egg. Inoculation of tea mistlestoe extract into allantoic cavity was the safest procedure as indicated by the absence of embryos mortality, and faster embryo growth compared to those of chorio-allantoic membrane and yolk sac-inoculated eggs. The extract induced different growth effects when inoculated into embryonated layer or broiler eggs. Administration of the extract at dose levels between 0,02–200 mg/egg reduced significantly the weight of broiler embryoes, but not the relative weights of liver, heart and spleen. Administration of similar dosage in layer embryoes did not cause any significant difference in the embryoes weight. This study suggests that the study of antiviral activity of tea mistlestoe extract in embryonated chicken eggs should be carried out on embryonated eggs of layer breeds and the extract should be inoculated via allantoic cavity. Key Words: Scurrula oortiana, Embryonated Chicken Eggs, Enti Viral Activity