Anthelmintic
|
Anthelmintics (in the U.S., antihelminthics) are drugs that expel parasitic worms (helminthes) from the body or kill them. A traditional remedy of this type is often called a vermifuge.
Examples include albendazole, diethylcarbamazine, mebendazole, nicolsamide (against tapeworms), ivermectin, suramin and thiabendazole.
Many members of the piperazine family are successful anthelmintics.
Natural anthelmintics include black walnut, wormwood (Artemisia absynthium), clove (Syzygium aromaticum), tansy tea (Tanacetum vulgare) and the male fern (Dryopteris filix-mas).
The macroinvertebrate parasites treated in this way include, for instance, tapeworms and roundworms, which infest the intestines.