Ovicidal in vitro activity of the fixed oil of Helianthus annus L. and the essential oil of Cuminum cyminum L. against Fasciola hepatica (Linnaeus, 1758)

The fascioliasis is a parasitic disease of importance in veterinary medicine and public health. For this parasitosis, the treatment by synthetic fasciolicides is used and due to their intense use although they have been shown less effective because of the establishment of resistant Fasciola hepatica population to these drugs, with a global concern. The use of derived products of plants with biological activity has been shown promising in the control of parasites. In this context, we evaluated the chemical composition and action of ovicidal in vitro fixed oil of Helianthus annuus L. (FOH) and essential oil of Cuminum cyminum L. (EOC), as well as their combination (FOH + EOC) of F. hepatica. In the assay in vitro of F. hepatica were submitted to different concentrations of oils, such as FOH (2.3 mg/mL + 0,017 mg/mL); EOC (2.07 mg/mL + 0,004 mg/mL) and the combination of (1.15 mg/mL + 1.03 mg/mL to 0,0085 mg/mL + 0,008 mg/mL) as well as a positive control of thiabendazole (0.025 mg/mL) and a negative control with distilled water and tween. The identification of the majority chemical compounds was performed by gas chromatography. The –cell viability of the oils was tested in MDBK cellular line by the MTT method. The majority compounds in the FOH were the linoleic (53.6%) and oleic (35.85%) unsaturated fatty acids, and the majority phytochemicals compounds in the EOC were the Cumaldehyde (26.8%) and the 2-Caren 10-al (22.17%). The EOC and the combination presented effectiveness of 99% (±1) and of 94% (±1) in the concentration of 0.03 mg/mL and 0.035 mg/mL+0.03 mg/mL, respectively, and the FOH was insufficiently active as ovicidal. The cell viability at this concentration of EOC was 93%. From the results above we could infer that the EOC is promising as a new alternative for the fascioliasis control.