Parasitic roundworms (nematodes) cause substantial morbidity and mortality in livestock animals globally, and considerable productivity losses to farmers. The control of these nematodes has relied largely on the use of a limited number of anthelmintics. However, resistance to many of these these anthelmintics is now widespread, and, therefore, there is a need to find new drugs to ensure sustained and effective treatment and control into the future.
An isotopic dilution assay was developed to measure radiolabile As concentration in a diverse range of soils (pH 3.30-7.62; % C = 1.00-6.55). Soils amended with 50 mg of As kg(-1) (as Na2HAsO4 x 7H2O) were incubated for over 800 d in an aerated "microcosm" experiment. After 818 d, radiolabile As ranged from 27 to 57% of total applied As and showed a pH-dependent increase above pH 6. The radiolabile assay was also applied to three sets of soils historically contaminated with sewage sludge or mine-spoil. Results reflected the various geochemical forms in which the arsenic was present. On soils from a sewage disposal facility, radiolabile arsenate ranged from 3 to 60% of total As; mean lability was lower than in the equivalent pH range of the microcosm soils, suggesting occlusion of As into calcium phosphate compounds in the sludge-amended soils. In soils from mining areas in the U.K. and Malaysia, radiolabile As accounted for 0.44-19% of total As. The lowest levels of lability were associated with extremely large As concentrations, up to 17,000 mg kg(-1), from arsenopyrite. Soil pore water was extracted from the microcosm experiment and speciated using "GEOCHEM". The solid<==>solution equilibria of As in the microcosm soils was described by a simple model based on competition between HAsO4(2-) and HPO4(2-) for "labile" adsorption sites.
Anthelmintic resistance is widespread in gastrointestinal nematode populations, such that there is a consistent need to search for new anthelmintics. However, the cost of screening for new compounds is high and has a very low success rate. Using the knowledge of traditional healers from Borneo Rainforests (Sarawak, Malaysia), we have previously shown that some traditional medicinal plants are a rich source of potential new anthelmintic drug candidates. In this study, Picria fel-terrae Lour. plant extract, which has previously shown promising anthelmintic activities, was fractionated via the use of a solid phase extraction cartridge and each isolated fraction was then tested on free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and the parasitic nematode Haemonchus contortus. We found that a single fraction was enriched for nematocidal activity, killing ≥90% of C. elegans adults and inhibiting the motility of exsheathed L3 of H. contortus, while having minimal cytotoxic activity in mammalian cell culture. Metabolic profiling and chemometric analysis of the effective fraction indicated medium chained fatty acids and phenolic acids were highly represented.