SINERGY ASSAY USING CARVACROL AND CINNAMALDEHYDE IN CAENORHABDITIS ELEGANS MODEL ORGANISM: FIND FOR NEW ANTHELMINTIC AGENTS

Resumo

INTRODUCTION: Parasitic infections are controlled mainly with synthetic and semi-synthetic drugs. The resistance to traditional anthelmintics highlights the need for new, sustainable, and effective drugs. Essential oils are emerging as a promising solution to it. Caenorhabditis elegans has been widely used to search for new antiparasitic drugs. It is simple, low-cost, and has a short life cycle. OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the synergy between carvacrol and cinnamaldehyde against C. elegans, wild strain. The bioactive compounds used were the principal components of Origanum vulgare and Cinnamomum cassia essential oils, which were previously studied for this group. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The compounds were diluted in 0.1% DMSO and tested on C. elegans in adults and egg stages. They were exposed to ten different concentrations (1 to 100µg/mL) and incubated at 21°C. The negative control was 0.1% DMSO. Ivermectin (adult) or albendazole (egg) was used as a positive control. Lethality and hatchability tests were run at 48 and 24 hours, respectively. The synergy index was analyzed using the SynergyFinder programs. RESULTS: The 50% lethal concentration for carvacrol, cinnamaldehyde, O. vulgare, and C. cassia individually were 6.8, 47.9, 1.0, and 53.1 µg/mL respectively. The combination analysis of carvacrol:cinnamaldehyde shows a synergy effect in 50:25 and 50:75 µg/mL for Bliss, Loewe, Zip, and HSA modes in adult worms. The same concentrations, in the egg stage, have negative scores, demonstrating addictive effects. CONCLUSION: All different synergy models showed that combinations of these compounds can enhance anti-parasitic efficacy throughout the adult worm of C. elegans. Thus, formulations containing carvacrol and cinnamaldehyde have the potential to provide an effective and sustainable alternative for parasite control. This study highlights C. elegans as a valuable, cost-effective model for preliminary screening of synergistic drug combinations.