NATURAL ANTHELMINTIC MEDICINE: A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW
HTML Full TextNATURAL ANTHELMINTIC MEDICINE: A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW
A. Qazi Majaz * 1 and I. Molvi Khurshid 2
Ali-Allana College of Pharmacy 1, Akkalkuwa, Nandurbar - 425415, Maharashtra, India.
Ibn-Sina National College for Medical Studies 2, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudia Arabia.
ABSTRACT: Helminthiasis is prevalent globally, but is more common in developing countries with poorer personal and environmental hygiene. In the human body gastrointestinal tract is the abode of many helminths, but some also live in tissue. They harm the host by depriving him of food, causing blood loss, injury to organs, intestinal or lymphatic obstruction. It is estimated that hundreds of millions of people harbor parasitic worms and one-third of the almost three billion people that live below the poverty line in developing regions of sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and the Americas are infected with one or more helminth. This review gives an overview of symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, prevalence, and herbs used in helminthiasis.
Keywords: Helminth, Anthelmintic, Helminthiasis
INTRODUCTION: The word Helminths is derived from the Greek meaning worms and may be defined as multicellular eukaryotic animals that generally possess digestive, circulatory, nervous, excretory, and reproductive systems. Some are free-living in soil and water 1, 2. Helminths are divided into two major phyla that are nematodes and platyhelminths. Nematodes (roundworms) include the major intestinal worms and the filarial worms and onchocerciasis. Platyhelminths (flatworms) include the flukes (trematodes) and the tapeworms (cestodes) 2. As per WHO Lymphatic filariasis, Onchocerciasis, Schistosomiasis, Soil-transmitted helminthiasis is the most common infections in human being produced by helminth.
Lymphatic filariasis caused by infection with the nematodes Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi and B. timori. Onchocerciasis caused by infection with the nematode Onchocerca volvulus. Intestinal schistosomiasis caused by infection with the trematodes Schistosoma mansoni, S. mekongi, S. japonicum, and S. intercalatum, and urinary schistosomiasis caused by infection with S. haematobium. Soil - transmitted helminthiasis caused by infection with the nematodes Ascaris lumbricoides (roundworm), Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus (hookworm), and Trichuris trichiura (whipworm) 3.
Diagnosis: Helminthiasis mostly affect in gastro-intestinal tract thus local symptoms like epigastric pain, diarrhea, malabsorption states, appendicitis, right iliac fossa pain, rectal prolapse, bowel obstruction (volvulus), biliary obstruction (cholangitis) are mostly used for diagnosis along with systemic symptoms like anemia, eosinophilia, fever, bronchospasm, pneumonitis, septicaemia, epilepsy, dermatological manifestations, etc.
Based on local and systemic symptoms identification of worm done by microscopically stool examination for ova, cysts and parasites, and a full blood count for eosinophilia. Radiology, biopsy, and Proctoscopy may also be used for diagnosis where identification of parasite is difficult by stool examination 4.
Treatment: Early and regular administration of the anthelminthic drugs recommended by WHO such albendazole, mebendazole, diethylcarbamazine (citrate), ivermectin, levamisole, praziquantel, pyrantel reduces the occurrence, extent, severity and long-term consequences of morbidity, and in certain epidemiological conditions contributes to a sustained reduction in transmission 3. Generally, a wide range of chemical compound is used as Anthelmintics, which is classified as under 5.
- Benzimidazole: Mebendazole, Albendazole, Thiabendazole
- Quinolines and Isoquinolines: Oxamniquine, Praziquantel
- Piperazine: Piperazine citrates, Diethyl-carbamazine
- Vinyl pyrimidines: Pyrantel Pamoate
- Amides: Niclosamide
- Imidazothiazoles: Levamisole
- Organophosphates Metrifonate
Prevalence: It is estimated that hundreds of millions of people harbor parasitic worms Table 1 and one-third of the almost three billion people that live below the poverty line in developing regions of sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and the Americas are infected with one or more helminth 1.
TABLE 1: GLOBAL PREVALENCE OF HELMINTHIASIS
S. no. | Disease | Major Etiologic Agent | Global Prevalence |
Soil-transmitted nematodes | |||
1 | Ascariasis | Ascariasis lumbricoides (roundworm) | 807 million |
2 | Trichuriasis | Trichuris trichiura (whipworm) | 604 million |
3 | Hookworm | Necator americanus; Ancylostoma duodenale | 576 million |
4 | Strongyloidiasis | Strongyloides stercoralis (thread worm) | 30–100 million |
Filarial nematodes | |||
1 | LF | Wuchereria bancrofti; Brugia malayi | 120 million |
2 | Onchocerciasis (river blindness) | Onchocerca volvulus | 37 million |
3 | Loiasis | Loa loa | 13 million |
4 | Dracunculiasis (guinea worm) | Dracunculus medinensis | 0.01 million |
Platyhelminth flukes | |||
1 | Schistosomiasis | Schistosoma haematobium
Schistosoma mansoni Schistosoma japonicum (blood flukes) |
207 million |
2 | Food-borne trematodiases | Clonorchis sinensis (liver fluke);
Opisthorchis viverinni (liver fluke); Paragonimus spp. (lung flukes); Fasciolopsis buski (intestinal fluke); Fasciola hepatica (intestinal fluke) |
>40 million |
Platyhelminth tapeworms | |||
1 | Cysticercosis | Taenia solium (pork tapeworm) | 0.4 million |
Plants Having Anthelmintic Activity: The plants have anthelmintic activity mainly due to their phytoconstituents such as phenolic compounds, flavonoids, tannins, and alkaloids.
They may act jointly or separately by inhibition of tubulin polymerization and blocking glucose uptake which produces damage to the muco polysaccharide membrane of worms will expose the outer layer restricting their movement which finally may cause paralysis and ultimately death of parasite 6.
A number of plants have shown anthelmintic activity against various helminths Table 2 contains a list of plants with anthelmintic activity identified recently.
TABLE 2: LIST OF PLANTS WITH ANTHELMINTIC ACTIVITY
S. no. | Botanical name | Family | Parts of plant | Active Phytochemical |
1 | Acacia suma | Fabaceae | Bark | Gallo-catechin |
2 | Acalypha fructicosa | Euphorbiaceae | Whole Plant | Tannins, flavonoids |
3 | Acalypha indica | Euphorbiaceae | Leaves | Alkaloids, saponins |
4 | Aegle marmelos | Rutaceae | Fruits | Tannins |
5 | Ailanthus excelsa | Simaroubaceae | Bark | Alkaloids, flavonoids |
6 | Anemone vitifolia | Ranunculaceae | Root | Glycosides, alkaloids |
7 | Barringto nia acutangula | Lecythidaceae | Leaves | Terpenoids, tannins |
8 | Bauhinia purpurea | Fabaceae | Whole Plant | Leutin |
9 | Bauhinia racemosa | Fabaceae | Whole Plant | Kaempferol, coumarins, steroids |
10 | Caesalpania pulcherrima | Leguminaceae | Flowers | Di-terpenoids |
11 | Cassia tora | Fabaceae | Leaves | Alkaloids, saponins |
12 | Cissamp elospareira | Menispermaceae | Leaves | Alkaloids, saponins |
13 | Citrus acurantium | Rutaceae | Fruit juice | Alkaloids, steroids |
14 | Cymbopogon martinii | Poaceae | Leaves | Geraniol |
15 | Cymbapogon schoenanthus | Poaceae | Leaves | Geraniol |
16 | Clerodendrum phlomidis | Verbanecaea | Aerial parts | Tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids |
17 | Corallocarpus epigaeus | Cucurbitaceae | Roots, rhizomes | Ketod iol, carpenoyl ester |
18 | Clitoria ternatea | Fabaceae | Leaves | Alkaloids, amino acids |
19 | Ficus bengalensis | Moraceae | Fruits | Alkaloids, flavonoids |
20 | Gymnema sylvestre | Asclepiadaceae | Leaves | Triterpenoids |
21 | Jalan sregia | Juglandacaeae | Leaves | Tannins, saponins |
22 | Lawsonia inermis | Lythraceae | Leaves | Lawsone |
23 | Leptadenia pyrotechnica | Asclepiadaceae | Stem | Flavonoids, glycosides |
24 | Maduca indica | Sapotaceae | Flowers | Alkaloids |
25 | Manihot esculenta | Euphorbiaceae | Leaves | Glycosides |
26 | Murraya koengil | Rutaceae | Leaves | Girinimbine |
27 | Neolamarckia cadamba | Rubiaceae | Bark | Indole alkaloids |
28 | Pandanus fascicularis | Pandanaceae | Leaves | Tannins, saponins |
29 | Parkia biglobosa | Fabaceae | Leaves | Alkaloids, saponins |
30 | Prosopis cineraria | Mimosaceae | Bark | Fixed oils |
31 | Sapindus trifoliatus | Sapindaceae | Seeds | Saponins, flavonoids |
32 | Saraca indica | Caesalpinaceae | Leaves | Tannins, glycosides |
33 | Sesbania grandiflora | Fabaceae | Bark | Alkaloids, tannins |
34 | Symplocos racemosa | Symplocaceae | Bark | Glycosides |
CONCLUSION: This review gives an overview of symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, prevalence, and herbs used in helminthiasis.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Nil
CONFLICT OF INTEREST: Nil
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How to cite this article:
Majaz AQ and Khurshid IM: Natural anthelmintic medicine: a comprehensive review. Int J Life Sci & Rev 2017; 3(12): 125-27. doi: 10.13040/ IJPSR.0975-8232.IJLSR.3(12).125-27.
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