INVESTIGATION OF IN VITRO ANTHELMINTIC ACTIVITY OF FICUS ELASTICA LEAVES

Abstract

The World Health Organization estimates that a staggering two billion people harbor parasitic worm infections. The increasing of anthelmintic drug resistance and the high cost of anthelmintic drugs led to the development of herbal medicine as an alternative source of anthelmintic. In the current study, in-vitro experiments were conducted to determine the possible anthelmintic effects of Ficus elastic (FE) Linn which are traditionally used for treatment of various diseases. The main aim of this study is to investigate the anthelmintic activity of Ficus elastica using earth-worms (Pheritima posthuma). Intestinal worms affect a host of individuals resulting in malnutrition, intellectual retardation, stunted growth and cognitive deficits. The leaves of the plant were taken for anthelmentic activity against Indian earthworm Pheritima posthuma. The Methanol and Ethanol extract of the Ficus elactica were evaluated for their anthelmintic activity against metronidazole (10mg/ml) as a reference and distilled water as a control group and the results were expressed in terms of time for paralysis and time for death of worms.

KEY WORDS: - Ficus elastica Linn. anthelmintic activity, metronidazole, Pheritima posthuma, Death time, Paralysis time.