Study of anthelmintic activity of dried seedless pods of Acacia sinuate

Abstract

Helminthes are parasitic worms that live and feed on living hosts, receiving nourishment and protection from their host and cause weakness and disease. Most of the helminthes are intestinal parasites. Helminthic infections are mostly observed in persons taking unhygienic foods or in persons who live in unhygienic environment. It is ob- served that approximately 3 million people globally are infected with helminthes. The only way to treat helminthic infections is the use of anthelminthics. Anthelminthics are drugs that expel helminthes from the body, by either stunning or killing them. The drugs that stun the helminthes are called vermifuges and those drugs that kill the helminthes are called vermicides. The most effective anthelminthics that are available nowadays are mainly of synthetic origin hence are very expensive and most of them also show some side effects. Thus, it is very important to find a suitable natural alternative to this synthetic anthelminthics by which both their cost and side effects can be reduced and their wide spread use can be promoted. In this study we evaluated the anthelminthic activity of seedless pods of Acacia sinuate by carrying out comparative study of anthelminthic activity of various extracts obtained from powdered Acacia sinuate pods with the anthelminthic activity of albendazole(standard drug), using earth worm as the model organism. We found that seedless pods of Acacia sinuate show potent anthelminthic activity and the activity of one of its extract is even comparable with the activity shown by albendazole.