Evaluation of medicinal plant extracts and isolated compound epicatechin from Ricinus communis against Paramphistomum cervi.

The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacies of hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, acetone, and methanol leaf extracts of Euphorbia hirta L., Psidium guajava L., Ricinus communis L., Solanum trilobatum L., and Tridax procumbens L. against sheep fluke Paramphistomum cervi (Digenea: Paramphistomatidae). All plant extracts showed moderate effects after 24 h of exposure; however, the highest parasite mortality was found in the methanol extract of R. communis. In the present study, bioassay-guided fractionation of methanol extract of R. communis led to the separation and identification of epicatechin as a potential new compound (LC(50) = 31.2; LC(90) = 105.0 ppm) against P. cervi. The structures were established from infrared, ultraviolet, (1)H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), (13)C-NMR, and mass spectral data which confirmed the identification of the compound epicatechin from R. communis. Results of this study showed that the methanol extract of R. communis may be considered as a potent source and epicatechin as a new natural parasitic agent.