Research Article
Lipi Purwal, Vivek Shrivastava
Abstract
Helmintic infections are now being recognized as cause of chronic ill health and sluggishness amongst the tropical people. The aim of present study was to evaluate anthelmintic prospective of crude aqueous extracts of some saponins containing medicinal plants. The dried roots and leaves of W. somnifera and dried flowers and leaves of C. officinalis were used for the preparation of the extracts. Four concentrations (2, 4, 6 and 8 mg/ml) of aqueous extracts were investigated for in vitro anthelmintic activity employing Indian adult earthworms (Pheretima posthuma), which involved determination of time paralysis (P) and the time of death (D) of the worms. Albendazole (10 mg/ml) was included as standard reference and distilled water as control. All the four aqueous extracts of roots and leaves of W. somnifera (L.) and dried flowers and leaves of C. officinalis (L.) showed significant anthelmintic activity. All the investigated extracts showed significant difference (p