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Abstract
Helminthiasis is a common infestation, which affects the human body parts like liver, gastrointestinal tract and other organs. It may cause malnutrition, loss of appetite, anemia, pneumonia and eosinophilia. There are two clinically important types of worm infestation, one in which the worms live in the host alimentary canal and the other in which worms live in other tissue of the host’s body. Almost one-third of the world population is suffering from these intestinal parasites. Though a large number of conventional drugs like albendazole, mebendazole, ivermectin and praziquental are available, they have been reported to produce side effects and dose-relatedtoxicity. This has led to increased demand of screening medicinal plant for their anthelmintic activity. Anthelmintic drug compounds including arecoline, pelletierine, filixic acid, aspidin, ascaridole and Curcumin are also reported to be obtained from plants. The article focuses on the limitations of the conventional treatment of helminthiasis and throws light on various herbal drugs that have been successfully used as anthelmintic compounds.