In vitro and in silico study and pharmacokinetic analysis of the acaricidal effectiveness of Cersium arvense extract against Rhipicephalus microplus

Rhipicephalus microplus, a tick species, causes significant economic losses in livestock and presents control challenges due to the emergence of resistance to conventional acaricides. This underscores the urgent need for effective and eco-friendly alternatives. This study evaluates the acaricidal potential of Cirsium arvense using adult immersion and larval packet tests. In silico molecular docking techniques were employed to identify biologically active compounds within C. arvense. Using Chem-Draw Ultra software (version 12.0.2, 2010), we illustrated 25 compounds derived from the plant, which were subsequently tested as ligands in docking experiments against Subolesin. Among the tested compounds, Apigenin 7-O-glucosideand Pectolinarigenin 7-glucoside exhibited significant inhibitory effects on Subolesin, with docking scores of -6.6 and - 6.3 kcal/mol, respectively. In contact bioassays using Cirsium arvense extract, various concentrations (2.5, 5, 10, 20, and 40 mg/mL) were evaluated. The results indicated an LC50 of 2.907 mg/mL and an LC90 of 47.725 mg/mL after 24 h of exposure. Notably, at the highest concentration of 40 mg/mL, the extract significantly reduced egg-laying activity in adult female ticks, yielding an oviposition index of 0.09 ± 0.02, which corresponds to a 75.68 ± 0.44% reduction in reproductive capacity. Additionally, larval mortality reached 88.33 ± 2.90%, indicating that higher concentrations not only increased larval mortality but also substantially decreased the reproductive capacity of the ticks. These findings suggest that bioactive components from Cirsium arvense show promise as candidates for the control of R. microplus. Further research is warranted to evaluate their efficacy as alternative or complementary strategies to synthetic acaricides.