RESEARCH ARTICLE The Diterpenoid 7-Keto-Sempervirol, Derived from Lycium chinense, Displays Anthelmintic Activity against both Schistosoma mansoni

Background Two platyhelminths of biomedical and commercial significance are Schistosoma mansoni (blood fluke) and Fasciola hepatica (liver fluke). These related trematodes are responsible for the chronic neglected tropical diseases schistosomiasis and fascioliasis, respectively. As no vaccine is currently available for anti-flukicidal immunoprophylaxis, current treatment is mediated by mono-chemical chemotherapy in the form of mass drug administration (MDA) (praziquantel for schistosomiasis) or drenching (triclabendazole for fascioliasis) pro-grammes. This overreliance on single chemotherapeutic classes has dramatically limited the number of novel chemical entities entering anthelmintic drug discovery pipelines, raising significant concerns for the future of sustainable blood and liver fluke control. Methodology / Principle Findings Here we demonstrate that 7-keto-sempervirol, a diterpenoid isolated from Lycium chinense, has dual anthelmintic activity against related S.mansoni and F. hepatica trematodes. Using a microtiter plate-based helminth fluorescent bioassay (HFB), this activity is specific (Thera