Chemical Composition and Antiparasitic Effects of Prangos ferulacea (L.) Lindl., Essential Oil against Echinococcus granulosus Protoscoleces

Introduction: Hydatidosis is an infectious disease that occurs in the larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus. Benzimidazoles are the only official and approved drugs for treatment, but their effectiveness varies among patients. Therefore, safe discoveries are needed for new and safe herbal medicines and supplements to improve the treatment of this disease. The current research was carried out to investigate the chemical composition of the plant essential oil and its protoscolicidal effects on hydatid cyst protoscolex in laboratory conditions. Methods: Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis was performed to identify the chemical composition of the essential oil EO(s). Hydatid cyst protoscoleces were collected from infected sheep's liver and then treated with concentrations of EO(s) (0.625, 1.25, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg/mL) for 3, 5, 10, 15, and 30 minutes in laboratory conditions. Then, using eosin dye, the viability of protoscolexes was examined. Results: According to GC/MS analyses, the main components of the EO(s) were β-Pinene (27.01%), (+)-3-Carene (24.87%), α-Pinene (18.34%), and Sabinene (17.69%), respectively. The killing effects of 5 and 10 minutes of exposure to 2.5 mg/ml of this essential oil were 100% lethal. Statistical results showed that the best time was 5 minutes, with a concentration of 5 mg/mL as the lowest concentration and the shortest incubation time (P<0.05). Conclusion: Our findings show the strong protoscolide effects of P. ferulacea plant essential oil in vitro. However, more studies are needed to assess the safety and efficacy of this plant as a promising anti-inflammatory agent in vivo and clinical studies