Medicinal plants have been identified and used traditionally throughout the world from the beginning of the human civilization. Several plants with various properties of healing have been mentioned earlier in the oldest Indian mythology Rig - veda and Athar-veda , thus the history of use of medicinal plants in India dates back to 3500-1800 B.C. These medicinal plants contain active principles which are highly potent against parasites. Parasite causes a quantum of health hazard and economic losses to both human and animals. Therefore, medicinal plants are still a concern of research for their anthelmintic activity and other beneficial effects, because of increasing contraindications in the application of synthetic medicines. The use of crude medicinal plants assures health promising effect to mankind and animals due to anthelmintic efficacy without any side effects. The present review gives an introduction to some medicinal plants, method of extraction and emphasized more towards its application against specific parasites.

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A review on use of medicinal plants to control parasites

Ethanolic shoot extract of Alpinia nigra, a traditionally used anthelmintic medicinal plant among the Tripuri tribes of north-east India, was tested in vitro to determine its anthelmintic efficacy in gastrointestinal trematode Fasciolopsis buski, using alterations in the activity of vital tegumental enzymes viz. acid phosphatase (AcPase), alkaline phosphatase (AlkPase) and adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase). Live adult F. buski treated in vitro with different concentrations of the plant extract showed significant decline in the visible stain histochemically and enzyme activities. Quantitatively, the total enzyme activity of AcPase, AlkPase and ATPase was found to be reduced by 45, 41 and 43%, respectively compared to the control. The reference drug, praziquantel also showed more or less similar effect like that of the plant extract. The results suggest that the tegumental enzymes of the parasite may be an important target of action for active component(s) of A. nigra, which appears to act transtegumentally.

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Anthelmintic efficacy of ethanolic shoot extract of Alpinia nigra on tegumental enzymes of Fasciolopsis buski, a giant intestinal parasite.

Flubendazole interferes with a wide spectrum of cell homeostatic mechanisms in Echinococcus granulosus protoscoleces

Millettia pachycarpa Benth (Leguminosae) has a usage in traditional medicine system practiced among the Lushai tribes of Mizoram, a state in North East India, who customarily consume the aqueous extract of the root peel of the plant to get rid of intestinal worm infections. The crude ethanol, methanol, and acetone fractions of the plant were assayed against Raillietina echinobothrida, the intestinal cestode parasite of domestic fowl, to authenticate the putative anthelmintic efficacy and cestocidal potential in particular of the plants. In vitro exposure of the worm to the extract at a concentration of 25 mg/mL phosphate buffered saline (at 37 degrees C +/- 1 degrees C) revealed distortion and disruption of mitochondria, nucleus, nucleolus, nuclear membrane, basal lamina, and tegumental vacuolization in the distal cytoplasm leading to scar formation in the surface. The possible use of the plant as a potential anthelmintic against cestode parasite is discussed.

http://dspace.nehu.ac.in/bitstream/1/3742/1/ultrastructural%20observation.pdf

Ultrastructural observations on tegumental surface of Raillietina echinobothrida and its alterations caused by root-peel extract of Millettia pachycarpa.

Cyclic GMP (cGMP) mediates various physiological functions of nitric oxide (NO) synthesized by nitric oxide synthase (NOS) A crude peel extract and purified fraction of Flemingia vestita, as well as a crude rhizome extract of Stephania glabra and fractions were tested with respect to the activity of NOS, NO efflux and cGMP concentration in the cestode Raillietina echinobothrida in order to find out the possible mode of anthelmintic action of these plant-derived components For comparison purposes, the parasites were also treated with pure genistein, sodium nitroprusside (SNP-a known NO donor), and the reference drug, praziquantel (PZQ) At the time of onset of paralysis in the parasites, a significant increase (32%-87%) in the NOS activity and a two to three fold increase of NO efflux into the incubation medium were observed in the treated parasites in comparison to their respective controls The cGMP concentration in the treated parasites' tissue was also increased by 44%-103% However, in the presence of NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, a potent inhibitor of NOS, there was no increase in the cGMP concentration in the parasite tissue This study indicates that the phytochemicals, in particular genistein and tetrahydropalmatine, from F vestita and S glabra, respectively, disturb the downstream signalling pathway of NO, as indicated by the change in cGMP concentration in the parasite tissue

Phytochemicals from Flemingia vestita (Fabaceae) and Stephania glabra (Menispermeaceae) alter cGMP concentration in the cestode Raillietina echinobothrida.

V Tandon

Papers

In vitro testing of anthelmintic efficacy of Flemingia vestita (Fabaceae) on carbohydrate metabolism in Rallietina echinobothrida