Toxic effects of crotocaudin extracted from the medicinal plant Croton tiglium.

The compound crotocaudin extracted from the stem bark of the medicinal plant Croton tiglium Linn. was administered for 24 h or 96 h to the freshwater vector snail Lymnaea (Radix) acuminata Lamarck in order to test its toxicity. L. acuminata is the intermediate host of Fasciola hepatica and Fasciola gigantica which cause immense harm to man and his domestic animals. It was observed that the molluscicidal activity of crotocaudin against L. acuminata is time- as well as dose-dependent. There was a significant negative correlation among LC50 values and exposure periods, i.e. increasing the exposure time, the LC50 value of crotocaudin decreased from 5.37 microM (24 h) > 2.08 microM (48 h) > 1.36 microM (72 h) to 1.01 microM (96 h), respectively, against L. acuminata. The toxicological experiments to proof for environmental toxicity, if any, have also been carried out on the non-target freshwater fish Channa punctatus (Bloch) [Channidae (Ophicephalidae)], which shares the habitat with L. acuminata. The sublethal doses of crotocaudin (40% and 80% of LC50) administered over 24 h caused significant changes in the carbohydrate and nitrogenous metabolisms in nervous, hepatopancreas, and ovotestis tissues of Lymnaea acuminata. Channa punctatus was also exposed to sublethal doses of crotocaudin (40% and 80% of 24-h LC50 of L. acuminata) for 96 h which showed significant alterations in the metabolism in muscle, liver, and gonad tissues. After withdrawal of crotocaudin the snail tissues recovered in part after 7 days and the fish tissues completely.