effect of the plant Furcraea gigantea on Biomphalaria alexandrina snails and Schistosoma mansoni miracidia and cercariae

ABSTRACT

Crude saponins and ethanol extracts were significantly more potent than the water extracts at LC50 28 ppm and 80 ppm, respectively, against B. alexandrina. Boiled water extract was approximately twice as potent than cold water extract. B. alexandria was less susceptible to the plant than B. truncatus. The boiled water extract LC50 for B. alexandrina and B. truncatus were extract 280 ppm and 210 ppm, respectively. The crude saponins were as lethal to snail eggs as to the adult snails. Miracidia and cercaria were also affected by the plant extracts, although the value of this observation in practical control terms may be limited