Travelers to tropical and sub-tropical climates most often acquire this parasitic infection through direct contact with larvae-contaminated sand or soil. dog and cat) hookworm larva in the subcutaneous skin.
It is of significant note because herbal medicine might be of fewer side effects than chemotherapy as has been reported in literature more or less.Miguel Imperial MD FRCPC ( biography, no disclosures)Ĭutaneous larva migrans (CLM) is a zoonotic worm infection that presents in travelers as an intensely pruritic, serpiginous skin eruption that is caused by the migration of these animal-origin (i.e. solium ( 10).Įventually, medicinal herbs can be used and tested to cure many infectious diseases, including helminthic diseases. (Meliaceae ) was better than piperazine phosphate on treatment of T. Outcome of wormicidal plant extracts of Melia azedarach Linn. In 1974, thirty-two patients with taeniasis were treated successfully with mixture of boiled areca nuts and pumpkin seeds in Taiwan ( 9). In another study, oil plants, such as Artemisia pallens (Compositae), Eupatorium triplinerve (Compositae), Artabotrys odoratissimus (Annonanceae), Capillipedium foetidum (Poaceae) and the grass of Cymbopogon martini (Poaceae) showed a strong impact on Ascaris and T. Oil of Gardenia lucida (Rubiaceae ), Cyperusrotundus (Cyperaceae ), Inula racemosa (Compositae ), Psitacia integrrima (Anacardiaceae ), Litsea chinensis (Lauraceae ) and Randia dumetorum (Rubiaceae ) also showed good effects on tapeworms ( 6). spicatum (Zingiberaceae ) had better effects than piperazine phosphate against tapeworms ( 6). Later studies showed root oil Hedychium coronarium (Zingiberaceae ) and H. In the past, extracts and oils of pants were tested mostly on earthworm Pheritima posthuma as an appropriate model, e.g., effect of plant oil Cymbopogon nardus (Gramineae) on earthworm was satisfaction ( 6). solium was treated in 2009 using extracts of pumpkin seeds ( 7). Many plants in terms of the impact on the worms have been tested and approve already and most of them originate from northern India ( 6). The use of herbal medicines for the treatment of diseases in India traces back to 3500 years BC ( 6). India and China have vast resources of medicinal plants. Many of them are still used on the treatment of parasitic diseases. In the past, herbal remedies used to combat worms. These drugs have side effects on the body ( 4). Numerous studies conducted in America showed less effectiveness on drug therapy that may be due to differences with Mexico because of heterogeneous groups of patients of the study( 5). In Mexico, it is treated using albendazole or praziquantel ( 4). Praziquantel was the first drug to be effective on parasitic diseases especially trematodes and cestodes. Until 1978, the only treatment for this disease was surgery. Its perilous consequences in countries such as Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania are seen ( 1, 3). solium as a helminthic infection is of benign prognosis, but mortality resulted from neurocysticercosis has been reported in ligature ( 1– 3). solium is one the most common parasitic diseases of human in developing or industrialized countries with high migration index of people living in endemic areas ( 1, 2). Currently, neurocysticercosis, resulted from T. Exploiting traditional medicine might be considered as a complementary way to treat the helminthic diseases because these resources are easy to access and have fewer side effects.Ĭysticercosis is a zoonotic disease infecting animals and humans transferred from the larval stage of Taenia solium. These drugs may also be expensive or unavailable. The use of drugs on one hand assists to cure the diseases, but on the other hand, may cause the parasite to be resistant to treatment. These infections are usually ignored and some of them, such as neurocysticercosis are dangerous and have serious side effects. Helminth infections are still a threat to public health for people resident in the tropics and underdeveloped countries.