Anthelmintic evaluation of traditional medicinal plants from Pakistan using Caenorhabditis elegans supported by phytochemical screening and thin-layer chromatographic profiling.

Traditional systems of medicine have acted as a primary health care modality for resource-constrained regions of the world since time immemorial. This study investigates the anthelmintic activity of 17 ethnobotanically selected medicinal plants from the Swat region of Pakistan and characterises their phytochemical profiles. The anthelmintic activity of plant extracts prepared in five different solvents (hexane, acetone, ethanol, methanol, and water) was determined by using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model, followed by assessment of the phytochemistry as well as thin-layer chromatographic profiling of the acetone plant extracts. The anthelmintic results revealed that 48% of the extracts showed significant activity against C. elegans, with Ajuga bracteosa and Punica granatum extracts, followed by Berberis lyceum, Mentha longifolia, and Artemisia maritima, being the most potent. Among solvents, acetone proved to be the most effective extractant solvent. The phytochemical analysis and TLC profiling revealed various phytochemical groups in selected plant extracts. These findings support the significance of ethnomedicinal herbs in the discovery of novel antiparasitic drug candidates. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to document the anthelmintic properties of selected plants from the Swat region of Pakistan, along with phytochemical screening and TLC profiling. This study indicates that the plants with potent anthelmintic activity, such as A. maritima, M. longifolia, B. lyceum, A. bracteosa, and P. granatum, could be potential candidates for anthelmintic drug discovery.