Anthelmintic activity of root of Benincasa hispida (Petha)

The present study was undertaken to evaluate anthelmintic activity of crude aqueous, Petroleum ether, chloroform and methanol extracts of Benincasa hispida (Petha) root using Pheretima posthuma as test worms. Single concentration (5%) of extracts were tested in the bioassay, which involved determination of time of paralysis (P) and time of death (D) of the worms. Piperazine citrate was included as standard reference and distilled water as control. The results of present study indicated that Benincasa hispida (Thumb) root extracts were exhibited anthelmintic activity significantly (***p<0.001) when compared with standard (Piperazine citrate) group. Further studies are in process to isolate the active principles responsible for the activity.