Assessment of Anthelmintic Activity of Ethanolic Extract of Musa sapientum Stem: An In-Vitro Approach

Many medicinal plants claimed to possess anthelmintic activity. Musa sapientum belonging to the Musaceae family is a highly valued plant, distributed in many countries of the tropical and sub tropical. Its common names includes banana. Some standard drugs such as piperazine citrate, albendazole, mebendazole, thiabendazole possess some side effects such as nausea, vomiting, stomach and abdominal pain, headache, dizziness, and temporary hair loss etc. But the herbal drug shows fewer side effects. Musa sapientum L. (Musaceae) are mainly grown in the tropical and subtropical countries and are widely used for its nutritional values all over the world. Preliminary phytochemical investigation includes the presence of alkaloids, carbohydrates, glycosides, flavonoids, steroids and tannins. Indian adult earthworms (Pheretima posthuma) were used to study anthelmintic activity. The activity was checked in ethanolic extract with three different concentrations (100, 200, 300mg/ml) and compared with the standard drug Albendazole (10mg/ml) and control as distilled water. The result was expressed in the terms of paralysis time and death time of worms. Ethanolic extract of Musa sapientum stem shows anthelmintic activity in dose dependent manner and maximum efficacy is seen at 300mg/ml concentration. Hence it was concluded that ethanolic extract of Musa sapientum stem have anthelmintic property. Keywords: Musa sapientum, earthworms, anthelmintic activity, albendazole, paralysis, Pheretima posthuma