Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 Dec;47(4):377-80.
doi: 10.3347/kjp.2009.47.4.377. Epub 2009 Dec 2.

In vitro screening of anti-lice activity of Pongamia pinnata leaves

John Samuel Anbu Jeba Sunilson  1 , Radhamani Suraj, Gopinath Rejitha, Kalusalingam Anandarajagopal, Anita Gnana Kumari Anbumani Vimala, Hj Azman Husain
Affiliations

In vitro screening of anti-lice activity of Pongamia pinnata leaves

John Samuel Anbu Jeba Sunilson et al. Korean J Parasitol. 2009 Dec.

Abstract

Growing patterns of pediculocidal drug resistance towards head louse laid the foundation for research in exploring novel anti-lice agents from medicinal plants. In the present study, various extracts of Pongamia pinnata leaves were tested against the head louse Pediculus humanus capitis. A filter paper diffusion method was conducted for determining the potential pediculocidal and ovicidal activity of chloroform, petroleum ether, methanol, and water extracts of P. pinnata leaves. The findings revealed that petroleum ether extracts possess excellent anti-lice activity with values ranging between 50.3% and 100% where as chloroform and methanol extracts showed moderate pediculocidal effects. The chloroform and methanol extracts were also successful in inhibiting nymph emergence and the petroleum ether extract was the most effective with a complete inhibition of emergence. Water extract was devoid of both pediculocidal and ovicidal activities. All the results were well comparable with benzoyl benzoate (25% w/v). These results showed the prospect of using P. pinnata leave extracts against P. humanus capitis in difficult situations of emergence of resistance to synthetic anti-lice agents.

Keywords: Pongamia pinnata; anti-lice activity; filter paper bioassay; head louse; leaves.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Burkhart CG, Burkhart CN, Burkhart KM. An assessment of topical and oral prescription and over-the-counter treatments for head lice. J Am Acad Dermatol. 1998;38:979–982. - PubMed
    1. Meinking TL, Serrano L, Hard B, Entzel P, Lemard G, Rivera E, Villar ME. Comparative in vitro pediculicidal efficacy of treatments in resistant head lice populations in the United States. Arch Dermatol. 2002;138:220–224. - PubMed
    1. Mumcuoglu KY, Miller J, Gofin R, Adler B, Ben-Ishai F, Almog R, Kafka D, Klaus S. Epidemiological studies on head lice infestation in Israel. I. Parasitological examination of children. Int J Dermatol. 1990;29:502–506. - PubMed
    1. Mumcuoglu KY. Prevention and treatment of head lice in children. Paediatr Drugs. 1999;1:211–218. - PubMed
    1. NFT Highlights. A quick guide to useful nitrogen fixing trees from around the world. NFTA; 1997.

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources