Characterization of a new potyvirus infecting Thevetia ahouai in Ecuador.

A new potyvirus was found in Thevetia ahouai L. (Fam. Apocynaceae) plants exhibiting white spots on leaves and fruit discoloration in Ecuador. The complete genome sequences of two isolates of this virus, tentatively named "thevetia white spot virus" (ThWSV), were determined and found to be 9,912 (isolate 1) and 9,904 (isolate 2) nucleotides (nt) in length, each encoding a polyprotein of 363 kDa. Sequence comparisons between the two isolates showed 80 and 87% identity at the nt and amino acid (aa) level, respectively, whereas the overall sequence identity between ThWSV and its closest relative was 69% and 71% at the nt and aa level, respectively.

In vitro spermicidal effect of Thevetia Peruviana leaves on human spermatozoa.

An in vitro spermicidal effect of aqua-methanolic (2:3) extract of Thevetia peruviana leaves on human spermatozoa was evaluated in a dose-dependent manner (20, 40, 80 and 160 mg/ml) at a 1:1 ratio. Sperm motility, viability, hypo-osmotic swelling (HOS) and acrosomal status and function tests were performed immediately (20 s), and after 5 and 10 min of exposure of the spermatozoa to the extract of Thevetia peruviana leaves at different dose concentrations. Nuclear chromatin decondensation (NCD) test, DNA fragmentation test and sperm revival test were also evaluated. The sperm motility was affected immediately at a dose of 20 mg/ml and reduced gradually at doses of 40 and 80 mg/ml of Thevetia peruviana extract. Complete immobilisation of spermatozoa was observed at 160 mg /ml dose of this extract treatment within 5 min. 50% immobilisation of spermatozoa (EC50) was observed at 28 mg/ml dose of Thevetia peruviana extract within 20 s. The sperm viability decreased significantly at a higher concentration of extract, and all spermatozoa were found to be non-viable after 10 min when treated with 160 mg/ml dose of Thevetia peruviana extract. HOS and NCD of spermatozoa also reduced gradually at a higher concentration of extract administration. The percentage of DNA damage in spermatozoa was four times greater than in the control group. The findings indicate that the hydro-methanolic extract of Thevetia peruviana leaves possesses appreciably potent spermicidal activity through an in vitro model, which may explore an effective vaginal contraceptive.

Anticancer, Anticoagulant, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of Thevetia peruviana Latex with Molecular Docking of Antimicrobial and Anticancer Activities.

Natural origin molecules represent reliable and excellent sources to overcome some medicinal problems. The study of anticancer, anticoagulant, and antimicrobial activities of Thevetia peruviana latex were the aim of the current research. An investigation using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) revealed that the major content of the flavonoids are rutin (11.45 µg/mL), quersestin (7.15 µg/mL), naringin (5.25 µg/mL), and hisperdin (6.07 µg/mL), while phenolic had chlorogenic (12.39 µg/mL), syringenic (7.45 µg/mL), and ferulic (5.07 µg/mL) acids in latex of T. peruviana. Via 1,1-diphenyl-2- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging, the experiment demonstrated that latex had a potent antioxidant activity with the IC50 43.9 µg/mL for scavenging DPPH. Hemolysis inhibition was 58.5% at 1000 µg/mL of latex compared with 91.0% at 200 µg/mL of indomethacin as positive control. Negligible anticoagulant properties of latex were reported where the recorded time was 11.9 s of prothrombin time (PT) and 29.2 s of the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) at 25 µg/mL, compared with the same concentration of heparin (PT 94.6 s and APPT 117.7 s). The anticancer potential of latex was recorded against PC-3 (97.11% toxicity) and MCF-7 (96.23% toxicity) at 1000 µg/mL with IC50 48.26 µg/mL and 40.31 µg/mL, respectively. Disc diffusion assessment for antimicrobial activity recorded that the most sensitive tested microorganisms to latex were Bacillus subtilis followed by Escherichia coli, with an inhibition zone (IZ) of 31 mm with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) (10.2 µg/mL) and 30 mm (MIC, 12.51 µg/mL), respectively. Moreover, Candida albicans was sensitive (IZ, 28 mm) to latex, unlike black fungus (Mucor circinelloides). TEM examination exhibited ultrastructure changes in cell walls and cell membranes of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa treated with latex. Energy scores of the molecular docking of chlorogenic acid with E. coli DNA (7C7N), and Rutin with human prostate-specific antigen (3QUM) and breast cancer-associated protein (1JNX), result in excellent harmony with the experimental results. The outcome of research recommended that the latex is rich in constituents and considered a promising source that contributes to fighting cancer and pathogenic microorganisms.

KOH modified Thevetia peruviana shell activated carbon for sorption of dimethoate from aqueous solution.

Modified Thevetia peruviana shell activated carbon for sorption of dimethoate from aqueous solution derived with potassium hydroxide (KOH) was studied at different concentrations for its potential application in water treatment. The batch sorption was investigated using dimethoate solution of 10-100 mg/L concentrations. Proximate analysis was determined and changes on the surfaces and structure of the TPS were characterized after chemical activation with KOH using XRD, FTIR, SEM-EDAX, pHpzc, BET. The quantum chemical calculation for dimethoate yielded molecule associated energies of -9.8421 (HOMO) and -2.3879 (LUMO) and a total energy of -53,376.2. The kinetic of the sorption was modeled which indicated the sorption equilibrium time as 90 min and pseudo-first order kinetics model showing R2 = 0.994 provided a better description of the process. Analysis of sorption equilibrium revealed that the data fitted well to Freundlich sorption isotherm model (R2 = 0.966), indicating multi-layer sorption of dimethoate on the surface of sorbent. The sorption of dimethoate onto KOHTPS shows 92.60% removal efficiency.

First aid interventions by laypeople for acute oral poisoning.

BACKGROUND: Oral poisoning is a major cause of mortality and disability worldwide, with estimates of over 100,000 deaths due to unintentional poisoning each year and an overrepresentation of children below five years of age. Any effective intervention that laypeople can apply to limit or delay uptake or to evacuate, dilute or neutralize the poison before professional help arrives may limit toxicity and save lives. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of pre-hospital interventions (alone or in combination) for treating acute oral poisoning, available to and feasible for laypeople before the arrival of professional help. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, ISI Web of Science, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, and three clinical trials registries to 11 May 2017, and we also carried out reference checking and citation searching. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included randomized controlled trials comparing interventions (alone or in combination) that are feasible in a pre-hospital setting for treating acute oral poisoning patients, including but potentially not limited to activated charcoal (AC), emetics, cathartics, diluents, neutralizing agents and body positioning. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two reviewers independently performed study selection, data collection and assessment. Primary outcomes of this review were incidence of mortality and adverse events, plus incidence and severity of symptoms of poisoning. Secondary outcomes were duration of symptoms of poisoning, drug absorption, and incidence of hospitalization and ICU admission. MAIN RESULTS: We included 24 trials involving 7099 participants. Using the Cochrane 'Risk of bias' tool, we assessed no study as being at low risk of bias for all domains. Many studies were poorly reported, so the risk of selection and detection biases were often unclear. Most studies reported important outcomes incompletely, and we judged them to be at high risk of reporting bias.All but one study enrolled oral poisoning patients in an emergency department; the remaining study was conducted in a pre-hospital setting. Fourteen studies included multiple toxic syndromes or did not specify, while the other studies specifically investigated paracetamol (2 studies), carbamazepine (2 studies), tricyclic antidepressant (2 studies), yellow oleander (2 studies), benzodiazepine (1 study), or toxic berry intoxication (1 study). Eighteen trials investigated the effects of activated charcoal (AC), administered as a single dose (SDAC) or in multiple doses (MDAC), alone or in combination with other first aid interventions (a cathartic) and/or hospital treatments. Six studies investigated syrup of ipecac plus other first aid interventions (SDAC + cathartic) versus ipecac alone. The collected evidence was mostly of low to very low certainty, often downgraded for indirectness, risk of bias or imprecision due to low numbers of events.First aid interventions that limit or delay the absorption of the poison in the bodyWe are uncertain about the effect of SDAC compared to no intervention on the incidence of adverse events in general (zero events in both treatment groups; 1 study, 451 participants) or vomiting specifically (Peto odds ratio (OR) 4.17, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.30 to 57.26, 1 study, 25 participants), ICU admission (Peto OR 7.77, 95% CI 0.15 to 391.93, 1 study, 451 participants) and clinical deterioration (zero events in both treatment groups; 1 study, 451 participants) in participants with mixed types or paracetamol poisoning, as all evidence for these outcomes was of very low certainty. No studies assessed SDAC for mortality, duration of symptoms, drug absorption or hospitalization.Only one study compared SDAC to syrup of ipecac in participants with mixed types of poisoning, providing very low-certainty evidence. Therefore we are uncertain about the effects on Glasgow Coma Scale scores (mean difference (MD) -0.15, 95% CI -0.43 to 0.13, 1 study, 34 participants) or incidence of adverse events (risk ratio (RR) 1.24, 95% CI 0.26 to 5.83, 1 study, 34 participants). No information was available concerning mortality, duration of symptoms, drug absorption, hospitalization or ICU admission.This review also considered the added value of SDAC or MDAC to hospital interventions, which mostly included gastric lavage. No included studies investigated the use of body positioning in oral poisoning patients.First aid interventions that evacuate the poison from the gastrointestinal tractWe found one study comparing ipecac versus no intervention in toxic berry ingestion in a pre-hospital setting. Low-certainty evidence suggests there may be an increase in the incidence of adverse events, but the study did not report incidence of mortality, incidence or duration of symptoms of poisoning, drug absorption, hospitalization or ICU admission (103 participants).In addition, we also considered the added value of syrup of ipecac to SDAC plus a cathartic and the added value of a cathartic to SDAC.No studies used cathartics as an individual intervention.First aid interventions that neutralize or dilute the poison No included studies investigated the neutralization or dilution of the poison in oral poisoning patients.The review also considered combinations of different first aid interventions. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: The studies included in this review provided mostly low- or very low-certainty evidence about the use of first aid interventions for acute oral poisoning. A key limitation was the fact that only one included study actually took place in a pre-hospital setting, which undermines our confidence in the applicability of these results to this setting. Thus, the amount of evidence collected was insufficient to draw any conclusions.

Acute myocardial infarction in yellow oleander poisoning.

Self-harm by consuming yellow oleander seeds has become more frequent in South Asian countries, especially Sri Lanka and in southern parts of India. Yellow oleander poisoning usually presents with gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and neurological manifestations as well as electrolyte abnormalities. Cardiac effects can manifest as nearly any type of dysrhythmia and sudden death with very few premonitory signs. To our knowledge yellow oleander poisoning related acute myocardial infarction has not yet been reported. We report a 37-year-old man with yellow oleander poisoning who had normal sinus rhythm at presentation but within few hours developed acute ST-segment myocardial infarction.

Anticancer potential of Thevetia peruviana fruit methanolic extract.

BACKGROUND: Thevetia peruviana (Pers.) K. Schum or Cascabela peruviana (L.) Lippold (commonly known as ayoyote, codo de fraile, lucky nut, or yellow oleander), native to Mexico and Central America, is a medicinal plant used traditionally to cure diseases like ulcers, scabies, hemorrhoids and dissolve tumors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxic, antiproliferative and apoptotic activity of methanolic extract of T. peruviana fruits on human cancer cell lines. METHODS: The cytotoxic activity of T. peruviana methanolic extract was carried out on human breast, colorectal, prostate and lung cancer cell lines and non-tumorigenic control cells (fibroblast and Vero), using the MTT assay. For proliferation and motility, clonogenic and wound-healing assays were performed. Morphological alterations were monitored by trypan blue exclusion, as well as DNA fragmentation and AO/EB double staining was performed to evaluate apoptosis. The extract was separated using flash chromatography, and the resulting fractions were evaluated on colorectal cancer cells for their cytotoxic activity. The active fractions were further analyzed through mass spectrometry. RESULTS: The T. peruviana methanolic extract exhibited cytotoxic activity on four human cancer cell lines: prostate, breast, colorectal and lung, with values of IC50 1.91 ± 0.76, 5.78 ± 2.12, 6.30 ± 4.45 and 12.04 ± 3.43 µg/mL, respectively. The extract caused a significant reduction of cell motility and colony formation on all evaluated cancer cell lines. In addition, morphological examination displayed cell size reduction, membrane blebbing and detachment of cells, compared to non-treated cancer cell lines. The T. peruviana extract induced apoptotic cell death, which was confirmed by DNA fragmentation and AO/EB double staining. Fractions 4 and 5 showed the most effective cytotoxic activity and their MS analysis revealed the presence of the secondary metabolites: thevetiaflavone and cardiac glycosides. CONCLUSION: T. peruviana extract has potential as natural anti-cancer product with critical effects in the proliferation, motility, and adhesion of human breast and colorectal cancer cells, and apoptosis induction in human prostate and lung cancer cell lines, with minimal effects on non-tumorigenic cell lines.

Structured model and parameter estimation in plant cell cultures of Thevetia peruviana.

In this work, a mechanistic model for predicting the dynamic behavior of extracellular and intracellular nutrients, biomass production, and the main metabolites involved in the central carbon metabolism in plant cell cultures of Thevetia peruviana is presented. The proposed model is the first mechanistic model implemented for plant cell cultures of this species, and includes 28 metabolites, 33 metabolic reactions, and 61 parameters. Given the over-parametrization of the model, its nonlinear nature and the strong correlation among the effects of the parameters, a parameter estimation routine based on identifiability analysis was implemented. This routine reduces the parameter's search space by selecting the most sensitive and linearly independent parameters. Results have shown that only 19 parameters are identifiable. Finally, the model was used for analyzing the fluxes distribution in plant cell cultures of T. peruviana. This analysis shows high uptake of phosphates and parallel uptake of glucose and fructose. Furthermore, it has pointed out the main central carbon metabolism routes for promoting biomass production in this cell culture.

Proteomic analysis and purification of an unusual germin-like protein with proteolytic activity in the latex of Thevetia peruviana.

MAIN CONCLUSION: The latex from Thevetia peruviana is rich in plant defense proteins, including a 120 kDa cysteine peptidase with structural characteristics similar to germin-like proteins. More than 20,000 plant species produce latex, including Apocynaceae, Sapotaceae, Papaveraceae and Euphorbiaceae. To better understand the physiological role played by latex fluids, a proteomic analysis of Thevetia peruviana (Pers.) Schum latex was performed using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. A total of 33 proteins (86 %) were identified, including storage proteins, a peptidase inhibitor, cysteine peptidases, peroxidases and osmotins. An unusual cysteine peptidase, termed peruvianin-I, was purified from the latex by a single chromatographic step involving gel filtration. The enzyme (glycoprotein) was inhibited by E-64 and iodoacetamide and exhibited high specific activity towards azocasein (K m 17.6 µM), with an optimal pH and temperature of 5.0-6.0 and 25-37 °C, respectively. Gel filtration chromatography, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, and mass spectrometry revealed that peruvianin-I possesses 120 kDa, pI 4.0, and six subunits (20 kDa). A unique N-terminal amino acid sequence was obtained to oligomer and monomers of peruvianin-I (1ADPGPLQDFCLADLNSPLFINGYPCRNPALAISDDF36). High-resolution images from atomic force microscopy showed the homohexameric structure of peruvianin-I may be organized as a trimer of dimers that form a central channel similar to germin-like proteins. Peruvianin-I exhibited no oxalate oxidase and superoxide dismutase activity or antifungal effects. Peruvianin-I represents the first germin-like protein (GLP) with cysteine peptidase activity, an activity unknown in the GLP family so far.

Cardiac Glycosides from the Seeds of Thevetia peruviana.

Investigation of the seeds of Thevetia peruviana resulted in the isolation of 15 new (2-16) and 18 known (1 and 17-33) cardiac glycosides. Eight 19-nor-cardenolides (1-8), including two rare 19-nor-10-hydroperoxycardenolides, were obtained from T. peruviana for the first time. All the structures were characterized by NMR spectroscopy and chemical derivatization. The inhibitory effects of cardiac glycosides 1-33 against three cancer cell lines (human lung cancer cells, P15; human gastric cancer cells, MGC-803; and human pancreatic cancer cells, SW1990) and one normal hepatocyte cell line, LO2, were evaluated, and a preliminary structure-activity relationship is discussed. In addition, cardiac glycosides 1, 22, 26, and 28 were evaluated for their apoptosis-inducing activities in MGC-803 cells, showing IC50 values in the range 0.02-0.53 µM.

Cardiac glycosides from the seeds of Thevetia peruviana and their pro-apoptotic activity toward cancer cells.

Phytochemical investigation of the seeds of Thevetia peruviana resulted in the isolation of seven cardiac glycosides (1-7), including two new compounds (1 and 2). Cytotoxicity of them toward cancer cell lines P15 (human lung cancer cell), MGC-803 (human gastric cancer cells), SW1990 (human pancreatic cancer cells), and normal hepatocyte cell LO2 suggested that compound 1 could selectively inhibit the proliferation of cancer cell lines with IC50 from 0.05 to 0.15 µM. Pro-apoptotic activity revealed that it induced the apoptosis of MGC-803 cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. Meanwhile, treatment of MGC-803 cancer cells with 1 resulted in diminution of pro-caspases 3 and 9 and activation of caspases 3 and 9, while it increased the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in a dose-dependent manner. These meant that 1 induced the apoptosis of cancer cells by involving the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. In addition, the cell cycle distribution of MGC-803 cancer cells treated by 1 revealed that it could lead to cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase. Altogether, this study suggested that compound 1 may exhibit anticancer activity by its capability of induction of intrinsic apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase.

Cardiac glycosides with cytotoxic activity from the seeds of Thevetia peruviana.

Phytochemical investigation on the extract of the seeds of Thevetia peruviana resulted in the isolation of six new cardiac glycosides, namely theveperosides A-F (1-6), including a rare 19-nor-cardenolide (1), together with seven known analogues (7-13). The chemical structures of these compounds were determined based on detailed spectroscopic analysis. The cytotoxic activities of 1-13 were evaluated against MCF-7, HCT-116, HeLa, and HepG2 cancer cell lines, and their structure-activity relationships (SARs) were investigated. Compound 3 exhibited the significant cytotoxic effects with IC50 values ranging from 0.032 to 0.055 µΜ, which could induce HepG2 cells apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner.

Yellow oleander (Thevetia peruviana) toxicosis in 4 goats.

Four alpine goats developed diarrhea soon after the owner placed plant clippings believed to be yellow oleander (Thevetia peruviana) into their pen on a suburban property near Palm Desert, CA, USA. A 1-y-old female goat died suddenly ~1 h after eating the plant clippings and was submitted to the San Bernardino Branch of the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System for postmortem examination. The main autopsy and histopathologic findings were myocardial hemorrhage and necrosis, consistent with cardiac glycoside intoxication. Rumen contents were analyzed by LC-MS/MS; peruvoside, a cardiac glycoside, was detected, but oleandrin, the cardiac glycoside of common oleander (Nerium oleander), was not. An LC-high-resolution MS (LC-HRMS) analysis revealed the presence of peruvoside and neriifolin in the rumen contents and in a tested plant fragment, indicating that the plant was a member of the Thevetia genus. A clipping from the plant fed to the goats and submitted by the owner was identified as yellow oleander, Thevetia peruviana (also known as Cascabela thevetia).

Evaluation of Congo red dye decolorization and degradation potential of an endophyte Colletotrichum gloeosporioides isolated from Thevetia peruviana (Pers.) K. Schum.

Decolorization and degradation of textile dye by endophytic fungi stand to be a profitable and viable alternative over conventional methods with respect to eco-friendliness, cost-effectiveness, and non-hazardous nature. One of the active fungal endophytes Colletotrichum gloeosporioides isolated from plant Thevetia peruviana (Pers.) K. Schum. was screened for laccase production and Congo red dye decolorization. Various physicochemical parameters like dye concentration, carbon sources, nitrogen sources, temperature, and pH were optimized, and the maximum decolorization (%) was achieved at 100 mg/L of dye concentration (82%), yeast extract (80%), 30 °C temp (80%), glucose (79%), and 7 pH (78%), respectively. SEM image and fungal biomass changes represent that fungus actively participated in the dye decolorization and had less significant effect on biomass. The regenerative ability of fungus C. gloeosporioides after dye decolorization indicated tolerance against the dye and was found to be more advantageous over previous reports of dye decolorization by other endophytic fungi. UV-Vis spectra, TLC, FTIR, and HPLC results confirmed the decolorization and degradation process due to absorption and biodegradation. Phytotoxicity assay depicted that degraded products are less toxic to Phaseolus mungo compared to Congo red. The overall findings showed that C. gloeosporioides possesses a good decolorization and degradation potential against Congo red and this endophyte can be profitably used for dye-containing wastewater treatment.

Changing epidemiologic patterns of deliberate self poisoning in a rural district of Sri Lanka.

BACKGROUND: Acute poisoning is a major public health issue in many parts of the world. The epidemiology and the mortality rate is higher in low and middle income countries, including Sri Lanka. The aim of this study was to provide details about the epidemiology of acute poisoning in a rural Sri Lankan district and to identify the changing patterns and epidemiology of poisoning. METHODS: A prospective study was conducted from September 2008 to January 2010 in all hospitals with inpatient facilities in Anuradhapura district of North Central Province of Sri Lanka. Acute poisoning data was extracted from patient charts. Selected data were compared to the data collected from a 2005 study in 28 hospitals. RESULTS: There were 3813 poisoned patients admitted to the hospitals in the Anuradhapura district over 17 months. The annual population incidence was 447 poisoning cases per 100,000 population. The total number of male and female patients was approximately similar, but the age distribution differed by gender. There was a very high incidence of poisoning in females aged 15-19, with an estimated cumulative incidence of 6% over these five years. Although, pesticides are still the most common type of poison, medicinal drug poisonings are now 21% of the total and have increased 1.6 fold since 2005. CONCLUSIONS: Acute poisoning remains a major public health problem in rural Sri Lanka and pesticide poisoning remains the most important poison. However, cases of medicinal drug poisoning have recently dramatically increased. Youth in these rural communities remain very vulnerable to acute poisoning and the problem is so common that school-based primary prevention programs may be worthwhile.Lalith Senarathna, Shaluka F Jayamanna, Patrick J Kelly, Nick A Buckley,michael J Dibley, Andrew H Dawson. These authors contributed equally to this work.

A new and 23 known cardenolide glycosides from Thevetia neriifolia seeds and their cytotoxic activities against human oral carcinoma cell lines.

Phytochemical analysis of Thevetia neriifolia seeds resulted in the isolation of one new (1) and 23 known (2－24) cardenolide glycosides. The structure of 1 was determined based on one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopic analysis and acid hydrolytic cleavage reaction. The effect of the cytotoxic activity of 1－24 on three human oral carcinoma cell lines was assessed. The cell lines included Ca9-22 human gingival carcinoma cells, HSC-2 human mouth carcinoma cells, HSC-4 human tongue carcinoma cells, and HGF human gingival fibroblast cells. The isolated compounds had a cytotoxic effect on the carcinoma cells with IC50 values ranging from 0.004 µM to 64.9 µM. The structure-activity relationship is also discussed.

Molluscicides from some common medicinal plants of eastern Uttar Pradesh, India.

Many aquatic snails act as intermediate hosts for the larvae of trematodes, Fasciola hepatica and Fasciola gigantica, which cause the diseases fascioliasis and schistosomiasis. The WHO has tested several thousands of synthetic compounds for the control of the snail host. Although effective, these molluscicides have so far not proved themselves to be entirely satisfactory. With a growing awareness of environmental pollution, efforts are being made to discover molluscicidal products of plant origin. Being products of biosynthesis, these are potentially biodegradable in nature. Several groups of compounds present in various plants have been found to be toxic to target organisms at acceptable doses ranging from <1 to 100 ppm. Common medicinal plants, i.e. Thevetia peruviana, Alstonia scholaris (Family; Apocynaceae), Euphorbia pulcherima and Euphorbia hirta (Family; Euphorbiaceae), have potent molluscicidal activity against freshwater snails. The toxicological actions of Thevetia peruviana may be due to the presence of apigenin-5-methyl ether (flavonoid) and triterpenoid glycosides, while a number of alkaloids (pseudo-akuammigine in addition to betulin, ursolic acid and beta-sitosterol), steroids and triterpenoids are present in Alstonia scholaris and the diterpenoids, pulcherrol, beta-sitosterol, hentriacontane, ellagic acid and beta-amyrin are present in Euphorbia hirta and in Euphorbia pulcherima. Although, at present very little literature is available on the control of vector snails through plant origin pesticides, an attempt has been made in this review to assemble all the known information on molluscicidal properties of common medicinal plants of eastern Uttar Pradesh, India, which might be useful for the control of harmful snails.