Journal of food science and technology(Iran)

Journal of food science and technology(Iran)

Antiparasitic Activity of Medicinal Food Plants (Allium sativum, Punica granatum, and Carica papaya) against Intestinal Parasites: Phytochemical, Nutritional, and In Vitro Evaluation

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Manahel Hadi Mjefi
Bdour Mohammed Al-Shweily
Noor J. Hussein
Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Wasit, Wasit, Iraq
10.48311/fsct.2026.120972.83185
Abstract
The extraction was performed using 80% ethanol (maceration for 72 hours at room temperature) and distilled water (decoction at 100°C for 30 minutes). The extraction yields for ethanolic extracts were: A. sativum 12.4%, P. granatum 18.7%, C. papaya 10.2% (w/w dry weight). All three extracts were found to contain alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, phenols, terpenoids and saponins from the qualitative phytochemical screening. The quantitative analysis showed that P. granatum ethanolic extract had the highest total phenolic content (287.6 ± 12.4 mg GAE/g DW), total flavonoid content (134.2 ± 6.7 mg QE/g DW) and total tannin content (98.7 ± 4.8 mg TAE/g DW). Proximate nutritional analysis performed according to AOAC methods revealed that the protein content of A. sativum (6.4 ± 0.3%) was significantly higher than those of the other species while the vitamin C content of C. papaya (61.8 ± 3.4 mg/100 g) was significantly higher than those of the other species. P. granatum was found to be the most active against all the parasites used in this study, with the lowest IC₅₀ value of 1.4 ± 0.09 mg/mL against G. lamblia trophozoites, followed by A. sativum (2.8 ± 0.18 mg/mL) and C. papaya (5.2 ± 0.31 mg/mL). The positive controls used were metronidazole (IC₅₀ 0.8 ± 0.04 mg/mL for Giardia and Entamoeba), nitazoxanide (IC₅₀ 1.2 ± 0.06 mg/mL for Cryptosporidium), and pyrimethamine (IC₅₀ 1.8 ± 0.09 mg/mL for Toxoplasma).
Keywords
Antiparasitic activity
Allium sativum
Punica granatum
Subjects
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