Molluscicidal activity of plant extracts of the Euphorbiaceae family on schistosomiasis transmitting snails: an integrative review

Abstract

The family Euphorbiaceae Juss. have several plant species which possess molluscicidal activity. Thus, the present review showed the available works on the molluscicidal activity of the used plants from that family. The searches for articles were done between December 2020 and May 2021 by five databases, and the keywords were "schistosomiasis", "Euphorbiaceae" and "molluscicide". The molluscicidal activity was evaluated in the Euphorbiaceae family by 39 articles with emphasis on the genus Euphorbia. The snails used in the molluscicidal tests belonged to the genera Biomphalaria, Oncomelania and Bulinus. Many works used the protocols of the World Health Organization (1965 and 1983) to assess the action on mollusks. It was observed that, in the tests, many works used latex (a common substance among representatives of the Euphorbiaceae family), in which latex from species such as Euphorbia splendens var hislopii, Euphorbia milii and Euphorbia umbellata demonstrated molluscicidal action. The observation time of mortality and other parameters of the mollusks varied between 24 and 96 h. In conclusion, the results found in this review can help students and researchers to identify plant species of this family that can contribute to future formulations with molluscicide activity.