Artemisia Indica Extracts as Anthelminthic Agent against Pheretima Posthuma

Objective: To evaluate the anthelmintic activity of Artemisia indica. Methods: In the present investigation, the in vitro anthelminthic activity of chloroform, methanol and aqueous extracts of Artemisia indica was carried out against Indian adult earthworm Pheretima posthuma. Piperazine citrate was used as the standard reference. Five different concentrations (1.25, 2.5, 3.75, 5.0 and 6.25 mg/ml) of chloroform, methanol and aqueous extracts were used to evaluate their effect in inducing paralysis and death in the earthworm. The time taken to induce paralysis (vermifuge) and time to induce death (vermicidal effect) of the worms after extracts treatment was documented. Results: This investigation revealed that all the three extracts showed significant action in paralyzing and also killing the earthworms in a dose dependant manner. Among all the three extracts, chloroform extract showed significant anthelminthic activity. Among the various concentrations of chloroform and methanol extracts, 6.25 mg/ml showed efficient anthelminthic activity. This investigation revealed that the chloroform extract at concentration of 2.5 mg/ml was found to be most significant when compared to the standard drug Piperazine citrate. Conclusion: On the basis of these observations, we conclude that all the extracts of A. indica possess potent anthelminthic property and also suggest that further investigations on identification of bioactive principles, standardization of dose and toxicity studies on this plant for anthelminthic drug development need to be carried out.