Terrestrial Plants Molluscicidal to Lymnaeid Hosts of Fascioliasis Hepatica in Puerto Rico

Abstract

Molluscicidal assay of 200 Puerto Rican plants revealed 30 to be active against Lymnaea cubensis and L. columella under laboratory screening. Among these 30, 16 were notably toxic against lymnaeids, killing all snails in the range of 25 to 200 p/m. Of plant parts tested, including seeds, roots, fruits and leaves, the latter two proved most uniformly toxic. Only in the case of Solanum nodiflorum were all parts toxic. This paper discusses how molluscicidal plants may be beneficially used in the field to control snail-borne diseases, and what qualities an ideal molluscicidal plant should have.