Anthelmintics - any drug that acts against helminthic infections, i.e., those caused by parasitic worms. The terms vermifugal and vermicidal are often applied to remedies used to remove intestinal worms; only rarely do the agents directly kill the parasites. No anthelmintic is completely effective, completely without toxic effect upon the host, or equally active against all worms.
Vermifugal - Origin: L. Vermis a worm + fugare to drive away, fr. Fugere to flee.
Many members of the piperazine family are successful anthelmintics.
Natural anthelmintics include black walnut, wormwood (Artemisia absynthium), clove (Syzygium aromaticum), tansy tea (Tanacetum vulgare), Hagenia (Hagenia abyssinica), kalonji (Nigella sativa) seeds, and the male fern (Dryopteris filix-mas).
The macroinvertebrate parasites treated in this way include, for instance, tapeworms and roundworms, which infest the intestines.
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