The molluscicidal activity of
Hammada scoparia
leaf extracts and the principal alkaloids isolated from them (carnegine and N-methylisosalsoline) were tested against the mollusc gastropod, Galba truncatula, the intermediate host of Fasciola hepatica in Tunisia. The results indicated that the molluscicidal activity was correlated with the presence of alkaloids. A significant molluscicidal value, according to the World Health Organization, was found with the methanol extract (LC50 = 28.93 ppm). Further fractionation of the methanolic extract led to the isolation of two principal alkaloids: carnegine and N-methylisosalsoline. These alkaloids are isoquinolines that have not previously been characterised for their molluscicidal activity. The N-methylisosalsoline possesses the highest molluscicidal activity (LC50 = 0.47 μM against G. truncatula).
