Evaluation of in vitro anthelmintic activities of leaf and stem extracts of Justicia gendarussa

Monika Rani Saha,Md Anwar Ul Islam,Pankaj Chandra Debnath,Md Ajijur Rahman

doi:10.3329/bjp.v7i1.10558

Abstract

This present study explored the anthelmintic activities of crude methanolic extract of dried leaves and stems of Justicia gendarussa, an evergreen plant belonging to the family Acanthaceae. This plant is commonly known as Bishjarul in Bangladesh. Five concentrations (10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 mg/mL) of each extract were studied in the bioassay to determine the paralysis time and death time of the worm, Pheretima posthuma. Methanolic extract of leaves (50 mg/mL) caused paralysis of the worms at 35.33 min and death at 70.67 min while methanolic extract of stem of J. gendarussa caused paralysis at 41.33 min and death at 89.33 min. Albendazole (positive control) paralyzed and killed the worms at 17 min and 48 min, respectively. The study confirms the significant anthelmintic activities of leaves and stems extract of J. gendarussa and therefore demands the isolation of active principles thorough bioassay. This is the first report of anthelmintic activities of J. gendarussa.

Highlights

Nature always acts as a great source of salvation for human being by providing different remedies from its plants, animals, and other sources to cure all ailments of mankind (Dubey et al, 2004)
Adult earthworm (Pheretima posthuma) were collected (3-5 cm in length and 0.1-0.2 cm in width weighing about 0.83.04 g) from moist soil of a road side canal of Noakhali Science and Technology University, Sonapur, Noakhali
Extract of leaves and stems were applied to the petri dishes and observations were made for determining paralysis time and death time of the worm

Summary

Introduction

Nature always acts as a great source of salvation for human being by providing different remedies from its plants, animals, and other sources to cure all ailments of mankind (Dubey et al, 2004). Medicinal plants provide affordable means of health care for poor and marginalized people. They are potential sources of many therapeutic active compounds. There are many plants which has been unexplored in the field of medicine or science (Reddy et al, 2010). Because of such great opportunities in medicinal plants, continuous approaches are going on to isolate various therapeutically active compounds. Many active drugs have been derived from different medicinal plants, and the process is going on. 23 new drugs derived from natural sources have been launched on the market during 2000-05 (Chin et al, 2006). Besides new drugs launched on the market from 2000 to the present, there are a variety of new chemical entities from natural sources undergoing clinical trials

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Results

Conclusion