The use of phytotherapy in the fight against parasitic diseases

Ann Parasitol. 2023;69(3-4):91-102. doi: 10.17420/ap6903/4.513.

Abstract

In recent years, there has been more and more new research on the therapeutic effects of plants and their positive impact on the fight against parasitic diseases. It is of great importance, as it gives the opportunity to use this knowledge for phytotherapy, which is cheaper than pharmacological treatment, and as numerous studies have shown, it can be equally effective. Scientists are still looking for newer and newer chemicals that can be isolated from plants around us, and the current medicine is more and more willing to use natural medicines. In the following work, we present an overview of the most common parasitic diseases caused by protozoa, flatworms, roundworms, as well as by arachnids and fleas. We also presented alternative methods of treating these diseases using phytotherapy, which uses extracts of, among others, mint, tea tree, garlic, ginger, pumpkin seeds, annual mugwort, musk cosmos, walnuts, cocoa, grapes or black cumin.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Antioxidants
  • Garlic*
  • Parasitic Diseases*
  • Phytotherapy / methods
  • Plant Extracts / pharmacology
  • Plant Extracts / therapeutic use

Substances

  • Plant Extracts
  • Antioxidants