Development of anthelmintic resistance and high cost of conventional anthelmintic drugs led to the evaluation of medicinal plants as an alternative source of anthelmintics. In the genus Curcuma, two most popular species are Curcuma amada and Curcuma caesia. These species were proved for anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties but their anthelmintic activity is not yet reported. In the present study, four extracts viz. Petroleum ether, Dichloromethane, ethanol and aqueous extract of rhizomes of C. amada and C. caesia were investigated for anthelmintic activity at three different concentrations. Three concentrations (50mg/ml, 100mg/ml and 150mg/ml) of each extract were studied which included the determination of paralysis time and time of death of earthworms. Piperazine citrate (10mg/ml) was used as standard drug and distilled water containing 2% Tween 80 was used as control. All the extracts of both the plants exhibited dose dependant activity. The results indicated that ethanol extract (150 mg/ml) of Curcuma caesia was most effective in causing paralysis of earthworms, while the ethanol extract (150mg/ml) and DCM extract (150mg/ml) of both Curcuma species were very effective in causing death of earthworms.
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