Effect of Extracts of Vernonia Amygdalina in HelminthiasisA Tropical Neglected Disease

Soil transmitted helminths is one of the Neglected Tropical Diseases. They mainly affect the poor or the rural dwellers, but less affects the well off, because usually poor hygiene is a high risk factor. They are neglected in terms of the research and control funding allocated to them both by developing world governments and other donors. Vernonia amygdalina is being used in traditional medicine for different ailments, which helminthiasis is one. Albendazole as standard medication and methanolic crude extracts of the leaf, stem-bark and root of Vernonia amygdalina were subjected for anthelmintic activity on Adult Indian earthworm pherithima posthuma. These extracts showed potent anthelmintic activity on Adult Indian pherithima posthuma with 82.8±0.43, 46.22±0.5, 25.5±0.17 as paralysis time for the leaf extract, 81.3±0.25, 39.7±0.21, 15.4±0.60 and 25.5±0.35, 15.4±0.11, 13.2±0.30 as paralysis times for the stem-bark and root extracts respectively, and 161.8±1.71, 82.6±2.11, 38.2±1.12 as death time for the leaf extract, 147.5±0.81, 81.70±2.01, 26.4±1.13 and 86.8±2.61, 80.5±2.45, 23.0±0.02 (mean ± S.E.M) as the death times for the stem-bark and root extracts respectively at 30 mg/ml, 50mg/ml and 70mg/ml respectively with a predicted mechanism of action. The anthelminthic activities obtained from the extracts were concentration dependent.