A systematic review of medicinal plants used againstEchinococcus granulosus

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a zoonotic helminthiasis caused by different species of the genusEchinococcus, and is a major economic and public health concern worldwide. Synthetic anthelmintics are most commonly used to control CE, however, prolonged use of these drugs may result in many adverse effects. This study aims to discuss thein vitro/in vivoscolicidal efficacy of different medicinal plants and their components used againstEchinococcus granulosus. Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, PubMed and Scopus were used to retrieve the published literature from 2000-2020. A total of 62 published articles met the eligibility criteria and were reviewed. A total of 52 plant species belonging to 22 families have been reported to be evaluated as scolicidal agents againstE.granulosusworldwide. Most extensively used medicinal plants againstE.granulosusbelong to the family Lamiaceae (25.0%) followed by Apiaceae (11.3%). Among various plant parts, leaves (36.0%) were most commonly used. Essential oils ofZataria multifloraandFerula asafetidaat a concentration of 0.02, and 0.06 mg/ml showed 100%in vitroscolicidal activity after 10 min post application, respectively.Z.multifloraalso depicted highin vivoefficacy by decreasing weight and size while also causing extensive damage to the germinal layer of the cysts. Plant-based compounds like berberine, thymol, and thymoquinone have shown high efficacy againstE.granulosus. These plant species and compounds could be potentially used for the development of an effective drug againstE.granulosus, if further investigated forin vivoefficacy, toxicity, and mechanism of drug action in future research.