Anthelmintic, antioxidant, and cytotoxic activities of Chenopodium album against Haemonchus contortus: A combined in vitro and in silico study

Haemonchus contortus is a gastrointestinal nematode that negatively affects the meat and milk production of husbandry animals. The purpose of the study was to determine the anthelmintic activity of Chenopodium album plant extract in controlling H. contortus parasites. The antioxidant, cytotoxic, and antibacterial activities of the C. album plants were also investigated. In an anthelmintic activity test, 100% of H. contortus parasite mortality was observed after 3 h exposure at a dose of 150 μg/mL. The antioxidant properties of C. album showed an IC50 value of 90.98 μg/mL, indicating moderate antioxidant activity when compared to the BHT standard. The cytotoxic effect showed LC50 values of 4.52, 3.11, 2.3, 1.52, and 1.167 μg/mL after 12, 18, 24, 30, and 36 h against Artemia salina, respectively. However, the C. album extract did not demonstrate any antibacterial properties against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, Shigella dysentriae, Shigella boydii, or E. coli at a concentration of 150 μg/mL. A molecular docking study showed that isolariciresinol 4'-O-beta-D-glucoside, (1S,2S,4R)-1,8-epoxy-p-menthan-2-ol glucoside and linalool (CID-74407576, CID-73815050, and CID-6549) had binding energies of −7.8, −7.5, and −7.1 kcal/mol, respectively, with the Nu-class GST protein. Moreover, the ADMET properties of hit compounds also similarly showed ideal behavior to known drug molecules. Hence, C. album could be a promising candidate for developing an effective drug against H. contortus.