Screening Saudi Ethnomedicinal Plants for Anthelmintic and Immuno-potentiating Properties: A Proposed In Vivo Approach

Objectives: This paper advocates for a practical approach to empirically determine the anthelmintic therapeutic potential and immunopotentiating properties of these plants. Methods: Experimental animal/parasite models, namely the tapeworm Hymenolepis diminuta in mice, the nematode Ascaridia galli in chickens, as well as the tapeworm Raillietina cesticillus in chickens-are proposed for this purpose. Results: Evidence of therapeutically effective and immunopotentiating medicinal plants from the Kingdom derived from this study will pave the way for the development of effective, safe, and relatively low-cost anthelmintic drugs and immunostimulants. Conclusion: We emphasize that this is a proposed methodology paper. While our focus is on Saudi Arabia, the techniques are broadly applicable worldwide.