B I O L I F E O R I G I N A L A R T I C L E Preliminary Phytochemical Screening and in Vitro Anthelmintic Effects of Acmella Paniculata Plant Extracts Rajeshwar Y and Lalitha R Deportment of pharmaceutical chemistry, S.R. College of Pharmacy, Ananthasager, Hasanparthy, Warangal- 506371, Andhra Pradesh, India. E-mail: Lalitharepudi@gmail.com ABSTRACT Development of resistant to most of commercially available anthelmintic became a sever problem worldwide. Pet ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of Acmella paniculata were evaluated for there anthelmintic activity using Pheretima posthuma model (Indian earthworm). The preliminary phytochemical analysis showed the presence of alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids and tannins in whole plant. Three concentrations (0.075, 0.15 and 0.22w/v) of each extracts were used for this study involve the determination of time of paralysis and time of death of the worm. Extracts obtained from whole plant not only paralyzed but also killed the earth worms. It was observed that both ethyl acetate, pet ether, chloroform and methanol extracts showed a remarkable Anthelmintic potential against intestinal parasitism. Further, there is scope to evaluate those active principles of Acmella paniculata whole plant for their Anthelmintic activity to open the new door for natural Anthelmintic. Key words : Acmella paniculata, anthelmintic, Phytochemical, Pheretima posthuma. INTRODUCTION Helminthes are the most common infections in man, affecting a large proportion of the world’s population. Parasitic diseases may cause several morbidities including lymphatic filariasis (a cause of elephantiasis), onchocerciasis, and schistosomiasis. Development of resistant to most of commercially available anthelmintic became a severe problem worldwide. Sharma et al (2010) reported that the therapeutic use of medicinal plant has gained considerable momentum in the world during the past decade. The over use of synthetic drugs with impurities, resulting in higher incidence of adverse reaction, has motivated mankind to go back to nature for safer remedies about one third of all pharmaceuticals are derived from plants and over 60% of the pharmaceutical preparations are plant based (Lingaiah, 2013). Among the estimated 2, 50,000-4, 00,000 plant species only 6% have been studied for biological activity, and about 15% have been investigated phytochemical constituents. A side effect of plant derived drugs is less than synthetic substance. This article intends to provide an overview of history, pharmacognosy, phytochemistry, pharmacological activities and available marketed preparation of Acmella paniculat. Acmella Paniculata is an annual hairy herb up to 32-60 cm tall, with numerous stems and marigold eye flowers. Stem is glandular and hairy with pungent taste. The whole plant is AN INTERNATIONAL QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF BIOLOGY & LIFE SCIENCES 1(3):-106-112 ISSN (online): 2320-4257 www.biolifejournals.com Biolife | 2013 | Vol 1 | Issue 3 106