Efficacy of medicinal plants in cryptosporidiosis treatment: a comprehensive review

Cryptosporidium spp. infect the microvillus epithelial cells of the gastrointestinal tract of vertebrates. It leads to diarrheal disease named as cryptosporidiosis which is considered as the fifth leading cause of diarrhea in children younger than 5 years. The treatment is also limited, as there is only single FDA approved drug (i.e., Nitazoxanide) which has varying efficacy in immune-compromised individuals (HIV infections) and children. The increasing utilization of traditional plants extracts in treating these spp. of infectious protozoan parasite indicated their potentials as alternative remedies for dealing with these detrimental pathogens.