Phertima posthuma

The objective of the study was to evaluate anthelmintic activity on adult Indian earthworm Phertima posthuma   in various extracts from the bark of   Zizyphus jujuba.  Z..jujuba commonly called, Red Date or Chinese date or Bera (Pushto), belonging to family Rhamnaceae, is used primarily for its fruits. Jujube, a delicious fruit, is an effective herbal remedy improving stamina and muscular strength and aids weight gain, strengthens liver function and increases immune system resistance. The dried bark of Zizyphus jujuba was powdered and extracted with various solvents by successive soxhlet hot extraction process with increasing order of polarity. The various   extracts were screened for anthelmintic activity on adult earthworms Phertima posthuma, using piperazine citrate as standard drug. The results revealed that the methanol extract of Zizyphus jujuba bark showed anthelmintic activity at a concentration of 20 mg/ml, whereas the aqueous extract of Z.jujuba bark also showed paralysis and death at similar concentrations. The other test concentrations of both the extracts showed marked degree of anthelmintic activity. The anthelmintic effect of methanol extract at 40 mg/ml concentration is comparable with that of the effect produced by the standard drug piperazine citrate. The methanol extract showed the effect beyond 80 mg/ml concentration that is comparable with the standard drug Piperazine citrate. The methanol extract was more effective than the other extracts. The activity of the extracts was found to be inversely proportional to the time taken for paralyse or death of the earth worms. The active principles responsible for anthelmintic activity is due to the presence of flavonoids, steroids and tannins in the extracts. The results concludes the methanol extract was more anthelmintic activity   than the other extracts. Keywords:  Zizyphus jujuba, Anthelmintic activity, Phertima posthuma, Piperazine citrate