Impact of Seasonal and Organ-Related Fluctuations on the Anthelmintic Properties and Chemical Profile of Cladium mariscus (L.) Pohl Extracts

The use of plants and their metabolites stands as a promising option to tackle parasitic infections by gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) in integrated control strategies. Still, the influence of environmental and phenological factors, and their interactions, in the wild on the metabolomics and biological properties of target plant species, is often disregarded. In this work, we hypothesized that variations in the anthelmintic (AH) properties and chemical composition of extracts from the salt tolerant species Cladium mariscus L. Pohl (sawgrass) may be influenced by seasonal factors and organ-parts. To test this hypothesis, acetone/water extracts were prepared from dried biomass obtained from aerial organs collected from sawgrass in consecutive seasons and tested against Haemonchus contortus and Trichostrongylus colubriformis by the larval exsheathment inhibition assay (LEIA) and egg hatching inhibition assay (EHIA). To ascertain the role of plant organ, the activity of leaves and inflorescences extracts from summer samples was compared. The role of polyphenols in the anthelmintic activity depending on GINs and fluctuations across seasons and plant organs was assessed using polyvinylpolypyrrolidone (PVPP), coupled with an in-depth chemical profiling analysis using high-performance liquid chromatography completed with electrospray ionization mass spectrometric detection (HPLC-ESI-MSn). Main differences in anthelmintic activities were observed for summer and autumn samples, for both assays. Moreover, inflorescences’ extracts were significantly more active than those from leaves against both parasite species on EHIA and against H. contortus on LEIA. Application of PVPP totally inhibit the AH effects based on EHIA and only partly for LEIA. Non-treated PVPP extracts were predominantly composed of flavan-3-ols, proanthocyanidins, luteolin and glycosylated flavonoids, while two flavonoid glycosides were quantified in all PVPP-treated samples. Thus, the activity of such compounds should be further explored, although some unknown metabolites remain to be identified. This study reinforces the hypothesis of the AH potential of sawgrass and of its polyphenolic metabolites uses as nutraceutical and/or phytotherapeutic drugs.