Tapeworm infections cause insidious and irreversible effects in the infected individuals and some of them have already shown resistance to available drugs. A search for alternative treatment is urgently required. Phenolic compounds are amongst the most researched natural substances for their medicinal use. The present study aims to determine anthelmintic efficacy of two polyphenols Gallic acid and Catechin against the zoonotic rat tapeworm Hymenolepis diminuta. Both compounds are potent anti-oxidants and play major roles in combating pathogens, while their anthelmintic property according to our knowledge is yet to be explored. The parasite model H. diminuta was procured from intestine of infected rats raised in our laboratory. Two sets of parasites were treated in vitro with 5, 10, 20 and 40 mg/ml concentrations of each Gallic Acid and Catechin separately, another set of parasites were treated with standard dose of Praziquantel in RPMI 1640, while still another set of worms were kept in RPMI 1640 at 37 ± 1⁰C with 1% Dimethyl sulfoxide as control. Motility and structural alterations were the parameters assessed for anthelmintic efficacy of the compounds. After paralysis the worms were processed for morphological, histological, and ultrastructural study and observed under light and electron microscope. Dose-dependent efficacy was observed in both compounds. Shrinkage of suckers, deformed proglottids and architectural alteration of the tegument were observed throughout the body of treated parasites compared to control. Although in terms of time taken for paralysis and mortality Gallic acid was more effective than Catechin, the degree of morphological aberrations caused were almost similar, except histological alteration was more in Catechin treated worms than in Gallic acid. Nevertheless, both Gallic acid and Catechin are suggested to possess anthelmintic efficacy besides other health benefits but extended studies are required to compare their efficacy.

绦虫感染会对感染者造成隐秘且不可逆转的影响，其中一些人已经对现有药物表现出耐药性。迫切需要寻找替代治疗方法。酚类化合物是对其药用用途研究最多的天然物质之一。本研究旨在确定两种多酚没食子酸和儿茶素对人畜共患的大鼠绦虫Hymenolepis diminuta 的驱虫功效。这两种化合物都是有效的抗氧化剂，在对抗病原体方面发挥着重要作用，但据我们所知，它们的驱虫特性仍有待探索。寄生虫模型H. diminuta取自本实验室饲养的感染大鼠肠道。分别用 5、10、20 和 40 mg/ml 浓度的没食子酸和儿茶素在体外处理两组寄生虫，另一组寄生虫用 RPMI 1640 中的标准剂量吡喹酮处理，而另一组蠕虫则用 RPMI 1640 溶液处理。保存在 37 ± 1 ⁰ C 的 RPMI 1640 中，并以 1% 二甲基亚砜作为对照。运动性和结构改变是评估化合物驱虫功效的参数。麻痹后，对线虫进行形态学、组织学和超微结构研究，并在光学和电子显微镜下观察。在两种化合物中均观察到剂量依赖性功效。与对照相比，在处理过的寄生虫的整个身体中观察到吸盘收缩、节片变形和外皮结构改变。虽然就麻痹时间和死亡率而言，没食子酸比儿茶素更有效，但引起的形态畸变程度几乎相似，只是儿茶素处理的蠕虫的组织学改变比没食子酸更大。尽管如此，没食子酸和儿茶素除了其他健康益处外，还被认为具有驱虫功效，但需要进行更广泛的研究来比较它们的功效。