Evaluation of Mussaenda erythrophylla Schumach. &Thonn. for Anthelmintic Activity

Abstract

Medicinal plants are an essential source of treatment for various ailments. The Rubiaceae family is a rich source of medicinally important herbs. Mussaenda is an active member of the family Rubiaceae. It is largely seen in parks and gardens as an ornamental plant of India. It is a native of Western tropical Africa. Helminths are a wide choice of organisms which include worms such as parasitic intestinal worms, whipworms (Trichuris trichiura), (Ascaris lumbricoides) or hookworms (Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale) etc. Helminthiasis is a condition of infection by worms. It is commonly known as worm infection As per WHO statistics near about 2 billion peoples are infected by soil-transmitted helminths worldwide. The infected class of peoples were found to be nutritionally and physically impaired. The current study aims at exploring the anthelmintic property of the leaves of Mussaenda erythrophylla Schumach. & Thonn. Anthelmintic properties of Mussaenda erythrophylla leaves extracts using petroleum ether(60-80°C), chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol were evaluated against Phertima posthuma(Indian earth worms) at five concentrations viz.,10mg/ml,20mg/ml, 30mg/ml, 40mg/ml and 50mg/ml. Piperazine citrate is used as the reference standard. The duration taken for paralysis and death of the Phertima posthuma were assessed for all the groups. Methanolic extract of Mussaenda erythrophylla shows moderately significant anthelmintic property as compared to the non-treated group.