Botanical anthelmintics

Helminth parasitism especially gastrointestinal parasitism is one of the major health problems severely limiting the animal productivity in dairy animals. Chemotherapy is a major treatment modality used for the control of helminth infection in livestock. However, due to increasing development of anthelmintic resistance and the limited availability of commercial drugs to the rural people as well as the high cost of such synthetic medicines, a growing interest in the ethno-veterinary approach to examine the anthelmintic properties of plants traditionally used by local farmers in different parts of the globe is emerging. Medicinal plants are resources of new drugs and have served through ages, as a constant source of medicaments for the treatment of a variety of diseases and are known to provide a rich source of botanical anthelmintics. A large number of plant products are being used to combat gastro-intestinal parasites of livestock and also humans. Phytotherapeutic drugs are safe, non-toxic, biodegradable and do not leave residues in animals products. This review paper summarizes the anthelmintic activities of the medicinal plants and possible mode of action which could be further explored for the identification of lead compounds and development of potential anthelmintic drug.