Haitian Vodou priests (houngans) and priestesses (mambos) use plant remedies to treat many illnesses, including intestinal parasite infections. The present study screened 12 plants used in Vodou treatments for intestinal parasites to detect in vitro activity against infective-stage larvae of the hookworm Ancylostoma caninum. Water-soluble extracts of 4 of the 12 plants inhibited serum-stimulated feeding by larval A. caninum in a dose-dependent manner. All 4 plant extracts inhibited feeding induced by the muscarinic agonist arecoline, suggesting that these plant extracts may inhibit the insulin-like signaling pathway involved in the recovery and resumption of development of arrested A. caninum larvae. These results indicate that at least some of the plants used in traditional Haitian medicine as vermifuges show activity against nematode physiological processes.
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October 2008
Research Article|
October 01 2008
Plant Vermicides of Haitian Vodou Show In Vitro Activity Against Larval Hookworm
Beverly J. Wolpert;
Beverly J. Wolpert
Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Maryland–Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland 21201. mtmjmh@gwumc.edu
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Max G. Beauvoir;
Max G. Beauvoir
Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Maryland–Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland 21201. mtmjmh@gwumc.edu
* Le Peristyle de Mariani, Mariani, Haiti
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Elizabeth Fortson Wells;
Elizabeth Fortson Wells
Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Maryland–Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland 21201. mtmjmh@gwumc.edu
† Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia 20052
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John M. Hawdon
John M. Hawdon
Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Maryland–Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland 21201. mtmjmh@gwumc.edu
‡ Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine, The George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, District of Columbia 20037
§ To whom correspondence should be addressed
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J Parasitol (2008) 94 (5): 1155–1160.
Citation
Beverly J. Wolpert, Max G. Beauvoir, Elizabeth Fortson Wells, John M. Hawdon; Plant Vermicides of Haitian Vodou Show In Vitro Activity Against Larval Hookworm. J Parasitol 1 October 2008; 94 (5): 1155–1160. doi: https://doi.org/10.1645/GE-1446.1
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