Medicinal plants with scolicidal activity against Echinococcus granulosus protoscolices: A review

The surgery is the standard treatment for hydatid cyst caused by Echinococcus granulosus. One of the bad sequelae of the surgery of hydatid disease is the spillage of the contents of the cyst containing protoscolices. Many scolicidal chemicals such as cetrimide, povidone iodine, hypertonic saline and silver nitrate were injected into the cyst to kill the protoscolices before cyst removal. As a result of development of resistance and side effects of chemical scolicidals, alternative drugs with minimal adverse effects are still required. Our review focused on plants with scolicidal effects, to encourage the clinical trials to determine their in vivo and clinical effictiveness, the active ingredients, the mode of action, and toxicity.