Wormseed (Dysphania ambrosioides, once Chenopodium)

In brief

What it is, and why its name changed

Wormseed is a coarse, resinous, strongly scented herb of the goosefoot family, with serrated leaves, a scent that the Calcutta pharmacologists of 1932 compared to eucalyptus, and seeds that are shiny, kidney-shaped and bitter ^1,61. It is native to Central America, South America and the West Indies; by 1932 it grew wild across the United States from New England to Florida and California, and it has since naturalized in the warm parts of Europe, Asia and Africa, arriving in Korea by accident around the 1970s and becoming an invasive weed there, and in China it is one of four Amaranthaceae invaders whose range is projected to move north with warming ^1,4,5. The same plant has a different name in every country that uses it: American wormseed, Jerusalem oak and Mexican tea in English, epazote in Mexico, paico in the Andes, mastruz and erva-de-Santa-Maria in Brazil, M'khinza in Morocco ^{1,12,16,46,59,62}.

Its scientific name changed in 2002, and both names remain in use in papers and on products ^2,17,63. Linnaeus named it Chenopodium ambrosioides in 1753, placing it in the large and untidy genus of goosefoots and lamb's-quarters; the 'L.' in the new name records his authorship ². The oil of commerce was said to come from the variety anthelminticum, American wormseed, so older and pharmacological papers also call the plant Chenopodium anthelminticum ^1,64. In 2002 Sergei Mosyakin and Steven Clemants published new nomenclatural combinations that moved the aromatic goosefoots of North America into the older genus Dysphania, so that the plant became Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin & Clemants; the combination appears on page 382 of volume 59 of the Ukrainian Botanical Journal, published 3 September 2002 ². About a decade later a molecular phylogeny, a family tree built from DNA, of 140 taxa using chloroplast and nuclear sequences showed that Chenopodium as traditionally circumscribed is highly paraphyletic, meaning it lumped together several separate lineages, and that the aromatic species form the tribe Dysphanieae, one of the early branches of the subfamily Chenopodioideae, far from quinoa and the true goosefoots ³. PubMed still indexes the plant under the old name, which is why papers on this page cite it under both ^10,63.

The genome arrived in 2025. A chromosome-scale assembly of epazote using long DNA reads and chromatin-contact mapping (a method that shows which stretches of DNA lie near one another in the nucleus) gave 469.23 megabase pairs (millions of DNA letters) in 191 scaffolds (assembled stretches of sequence), 98.17 percent of it in the 16 largest, with 24,424 annotated genes and 51.81 percent repetitive sequence ⁶. The plant is tetraploid, carrying two diverged subgenomes, chromosome sets inherited from two ancestral parents, whose matching (homoeologous) chromosome pairs can, with few exceptions, no longer be identified by gene order, which marks the duplication as relatively old, older than quinoa's and younger than amaranth's ⁶. The assembly identifies no ascaridole genes; the authors offer it as a tool for finding the genes behind the plant's functionally important compounds ⁶.

Chemically the species is not one thing. A cluster analysis of published oils in 2009 found at least seven chemotypes, varieties that look alike and smell different: ascaridole, alpha-terpinene, alpha-pinene, p-cymene, carvacrol, alpha-terpinyl acetate and limonene types ¹⁰. The pharmacopeial American oil was the ascaridole type, with 60 to 80 percent of the peroxide in the fruit oil ⁸. A Nigerian population had 3.9 percent ascaridole and 63.1 percent alpha-terpinene ¹⁰; three Ecuadorian populations in 2026 had 3.30, 10.84 and 7.60 percent, varying with soil pH, nitrogen and metal content, and yielded only 0.030 to 0.064 percent oil ¹¹; a Bulgarian population in 2026 was a thymol-carvacrol chemotype (thymol 19.45 and carvacrol 14.30 percent, the scent molecules of thyme and oregano) with ascaridole not among its reported main constituents, and an Argentine ethanol extract in 2025 was likewise rich in thymol and carvacrol ^17,65; a Cameroonian oil was 61.4 percent ascaridole and a Brazilian leaf oil 87 percent (Z)-ascaridole ^14,16. This matters for everything that follows: the kitchen herb, the fever tea and the worm medicine can be the same species and quite different drugs.

Ascaridole: the active constituent and the problem of how much

The oil's worm-killing power was credited, by 1932, to one molecule ¹. Ascaridole, formally 1-methyl-4-(1-methylethyl)-2,3-dioxabicyclo[2.2.2]oct-5-ene, is a bicyclic monoterpene with a peroxide bridge across its ring, one of the few naturally occurring endoperoxides ^7,55,73; it is unstable to heat and acid, and the Calcutta pharmacologists recorded that when the oil was heated to 100 degrees Celsius in air it 'explodes with great violence' ¹. Chopra and Mukherji, writing in 1932, cite E. K. Nelson's 1920 paper as showing that the chief active ingredient was unstable and decomposed gradually on boiling with water, which is why Nelson advised rapid distillation with steam at a higher pressure and the condenser kept warm ¹. Nelson's earlier papers and Otto Wallach's structural work could not be opened for this page, and the 1932 review does not mention Wallach, so nothing here about who first identified or drew ascaridole rests on an opened source. The characterization of ascaridole from the oil was restated by Szmant and Halpern in 1949 ⁷⁴. By 1948 G. O. Schenck and H. Schulze-Buschoff were offering 'synthetic ascaridol' as 'a new way of treating roundworms', by 1954 a synthetic ascaridol preparation called Ascarisin was being reported for roundworm, and Halpern published another synthesis in 1951; the two German reports survive in PubMed only as titles ^75,76,77. The laboratory route, adding light-activated (singlet) oxygen to alpha-terpinene, is now used as a model reaction for scaling up photochemical reactors, run in 2025 at up to 16.3 kg a day ⁷⁸. The plant makes it, Johnson and Croteau showed in 1984, with a soluble iodide peroxidase from the fruit and leaves that converts alpha-terpinene, a related monoterpene with two double bonds, into ascaridole with hydrogen peroxide and iodide at pH 4, and the product is racemic, a mixture of mirror-image forms, in both wormseed and boldo ⁸.

How much ascaridole a bottle contained was never settled, and that is the hinge of the whole story. The United States Pharmacopeia and, from 1932, the British Pharmacopoeia (the official books of drug standards in the two countries) required not less than 65 percent by weight; Caius and Mhaskar in 1920 found 60, 62 and 70 percent in three samples, and quoted the distillers Schimmel and Company as finding 45 to 65 percent across their stocks ⁹. Caius and Mhaskar also found that storage did not always cost potency: one of their samples still held 60 percent after eighteen months, while another fell from 70 to 66 percent in seventeen ⁹. Chopra and Mukherji put the range at 40 to 70 percent and added that 'the toxicity of different stocks also varies considerably' ¹. The oil was distilled on a large scale in Baltimore, the 'Baltimore oil', and in Illinois, the 'western oil'; a cultivated belt 'near Weston in America', fifteen miles long and four wide, gave an average annual production of 10,000 to 40,000 pounds per 20 acres, the source not saying whether of herb or seed; and Indian-grown oil contained about 46 percent ascaridole against 65 percent or more in good American oil and fell short of the American specifications ¹. Then the oil decayed. In Calcutta in the early 1940s a sealed phial labeled as pharmacopeial strength, which had sat in a steel cupboard for two years, assayed at 49.16 percent, though its starting content was unknown; two fresh samples of 65.4 and 70.1 percent fell to between 52.6 and 56.3 percent by January 1943, a loss of a fifth to a quarter, whether kept in brown or clear glass, in light or dark, the loss fastest in the first year ⁹. A follow-up kept seven samples for twelve months: in direct sunlight ascaridole fell from 68.6 to 56.0 percent, on a bright laboratory bench from 65.2 to 58.2, in a cool shaded room only from 64.7 to 61.4, and a dark incubator at 37 degrees Celsius did not prevent loss ⁷². A drug whose potency depended on the brand, the country of growth, the age of the bottle and the temperature of the shelf was still being given to children ^9,72,79.

Measuring the molecule was itself a problem. The pharmacopeial assay of the peroxide was still being refined in the 1950s, for the oil and for the castor-oil solution in which it was given ⁸⁰. Gas chromatography, which separates a vaporized mixture in a heated column, replaced it, but the heat of the instrument isomerizes ascaridole to isoascaridole, so a commercial Madagascar oil read 41.8 percent ascaridole by chromatography and 55.3 percent when the result was corrected by carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance ⁸¹. Modern papers that report ascaridole by chromatography alone may therefore give a floor, not a figure ⁸¹.

Whether ascaridole is the whole of the plant's effect is a separate question with a surprising answer. Leaf infusions, the traditional preparation, killed the free-living laboratory worm Caenorhabditis elegans, but almost 90 percent of that activity came from a water-soluble component that was not ascaridole; synthetic ascaridole and the ascaridole extracted from infusions depressed the contraction of rat gut smooth muscle at worm-killing concentrations, while the ascaridole-free infusion did not ⁸². The authors concluded that the traditional infusion is safer than the oil ⁸². The human evidence on whether it also works is split: the 1985 Chiapas trial of powdered plant found no effect, and a 2001 Peruvian trial of paico juice found one ^46,47.

Epazote: the indigenous remedy and the kitchen herb

Long before the oil, there was the leaf. The 1932 Calcutta account states that the plant was used by the American Indians 'in the days of Columbus' and that in South America infusions of leaves and seeds had been a household remedy against intestinal parasites for a long time; in 1985 Kliks summarized the same tradition, infusions and decoctions of leaf, root and inflorescence taken as condiment and as worm medicine by native peoples across the Americas for centuries ^1,46. In the United States the fruit itself was once official in the Pharmacopeia before being dropped, and a large trade in wormseed existed for a long time until the oil came to be distilled on a large scale in Baltimore and Illinois ¹; the Calcutta chemists wrote in 1943 that the oil had been made official in the American pharmacopeia 'long ago' ⁹. The uses were never only for worms. In Argentina, a review of ninety primary sources spanning 1710 to 2010 found Dysphania ambrosioides first among the plants most often cited for empacho, a folk digestive blockage; the properties attributed to the empacho plants as a group include stomachic (settling the stomach), purgative, antispasmodic and carminative, the last being the old pharmacological word for relieving wind ⁸⁴. In Spain it is one of the most important of the seventy-odd plants drunk as 'té' after meals as a digestive ⁵⁸. In New Mexico it was among the plants most widely used to bring on menstruation or abortion ⁸⁵. In Morocco, as M'khinza, it is given for diabetes, digestive disorders, fever, fertility problems, bronchitis and cough ⁵⁹. In northern Bahia it was the plant most often cited by people with tuberculosis ⁸⁶.

In Mexico it is food. Epazote is 'used widely in traditional Mexican cuisine', as a materials paper that borrowed the plant for nanoparticle synthesis puts it in passing ⁵⁶. In Morocco its leaves are eaten as a vegetable and a flavoring, and a 2026 analysis of leaves collected in Sidi Bennour found 20.43 percent protein and 14.85 percent ash (minerals) by dry weight, with 4.31 mg of iron per 100 g, although the authors calculated that the leaf's phytate, a mineral-binding plant compound, would leave very little of that iron available; a methanol extract caused no deaths or signs of toxicity in rats given a single dose of 5,000 mg/kg, in a test that did not include blood chemistry or tissue examination ⁵⁷. Food scientists have also tested aqueous and ethanolic epazote extracts as natural antioxidants, finding they slow fat oxidation in ground beef stored chilled for nine days or frozen for ninety ⁸⁷. The kitchen claim that epazote cooked with beans reduces flatulence is often repeated but is not documented in any source opened for this page; the nearest is the carminative property that the Argentine empacho literature attributes to its plants as a group ⁸⁴. The one piece of laboratory evidence bearing on it is indirect: a Pakistani oil of the plant, a 4-carene and cymene chemotype without ascaridole, relaxed strips of rabbit intestine by blocking calcium channels, producing half its maximal relaxation of potassium-induced contraction at 0.26 mg/mL, which the authors offered as the rationale for its use in gut spasm ⁸⁸. No human study of epazote and intestinal gas was found. The safety of the herb at culinary doses has likewise never been studied in people; the toxicology below concerns teas and oils, not a sprig in a pot of beans.

The reversal came from the field, not the laboratory, and it has since been contested. In 1985 Kliks published the first controlled human test of the plant itself, as opposed to the distilled oil; he gave powdered dried plant rather than the decoction actually drunk. Among Mayan subsistence farmers in Chiapas, decoctions containing up to 300 mg of dry plant per kilogram of body weight were widely used and highly regarded against roundworm; but therapeutic doses of up to 6,000 mg/kg of powdered dried plant, twenty times the folk dose, had no significant effect on adult hookworms (Necator), whipworms (Trichuris) or roundworms (Ascaris), even though gas chromatography confirmed that the plant samples contained ascaridole in the expected amounts ⁴⁶. Kliks proposed that the belief survives because worms are passed spontaneously or by the purging that follows a therapeutic episode, and that older varieties might have carried more ascaridole; he concluded that the controlled field studies 'did not sustain widely held traditional beliefs' ⁴⁶. The PubMed abstract is truncated and does not give the number of subjects, which is a limitation of this page's reading of it. That verdict was later contested from Peru. In 1996 a health center near Tarapoto gave a leaf extract of paico to 72 children and adults with intestinal parasites in two villages and, judging by stools examined eight days later, reported clearance in 56 percent overall, 100 percent for hookworm and whipworm and 50 percent for Ascaris; the study had no control group ⁸⁹. In 2000 a trial in a rural community near Huaraz randomly assigned 60 children aged 3 to 14 with Ascaris either to paico juice (1 mL/kg below 10 kg and 2 mL/kg above, before breakfast for three days) or to one dose of albendazole (400 mg, or 200 mg under age five); fifteen days later Ascaris eggs had disappeared in 86.7 percent of both groups, egg counts fell 59.5 and 58.3 percent, the authors reported that paico, unlike albendazole, also cleared the dwarf tapeworm Hymenolepis nana, and 23.3 percent of each group had side effects ⁴⁷. Both Peruvian studies are small, from single sites, published in Spanish and judged only by eggs in the stool; the second does not describe in its abstract how children were randomized, and neither measured ascaridole in what was given ^47,89. They contradict Kliks's negative result without overturning it. The 2004 Canadian laboratory finding that the infusion's nematocide is largely not ascaridole offers one possible reconciliation, since the Chiapas powder, the Peruvian juice and the folk decoction are three different preparations that may carry different active agents; that is a hypothesis, not a result ⁸².

A last practical point is identity. 'Epazote' in Mexico also names Dysphania graveolens, a related species whose own pain-relieving flavonoids have been studied in mice, and it was D. graveolens, not D. ambrosioides, that a phytochemical analysis identified as the source of the oil in the 1996 fatal poisoning in Mexico City ^22,90. Of twenty herbal products bought online and DNA-barcoded by New York students, four did not match their labels, and one of the four was sold as epazote ⁹¹. Animal toxicity depends on what is given. A Ugandan and Congolese study saw no deaths or signs of toxicity for 14 days after a single 2,000 mg/kg dose of leaf extract in rats ⁹²; a Moroccan flower extract had a median lethal dose of 5,000 mg/kg but raised liver enzymes and urea at 500 mg/kg daily ⁹³; a Brazilian aqueous leaf extract produced 'slight hepatotoxic lesions' at 1.0 g/kg for fifteen days ⁹⁴; and a Moroccan study of aerial-part fractions at 200 mg/kg for 28 days in mice found no deaths or biochemical changes, only some organ-weight changes ⁹⁵. The plant is not one drug, and the dose and the preparation decide.

The worm medicine: 1881 to the 1940s

The oil entered European medicine in 1881, when Bäumler and Fribourg tried it for hookworm with results the Calcutta reviewers called 'not encouraging'; it was used against roundworms and was unpopular because of toxic and sometimes fatal effects ¹. The turn came in Sumatra in 1913, when Schüffner and Verwoerd gave it to hookworm patients in 3 cc doses (cubic centimeters, the same as milliliters) with castor oil and chloroform and obtained results superior to thymol and beta-naphthol, the older worm drugs; from then, the 1932 account says, the drug 'came rapidly into use', helped by the First World War's shortage of santonin, an older plant-derived roundworm drug, and of thymol ¹. Beta-naphthol and thymol were still being reported in the British Medical Journal in 1923 ⁹⁶.

The decisive evidence came from the Rockefeller Foundation. Its Sanitary Commission for the Eradication of Hookworm Disease had worked across eleven Southern states of the United States from 1909 to 1914, finding about 40 percent of those surveyed infected, and in 1914 the Foundation launched an international hookworm program, later run by its International Health Board, by absorbing national programs that Latin American physicians had already begun ^97,98. In 1915 and 1916 the Malaya Board, working under the Colonial Office and the Rockefeller Foundation, ran what remain the clearest dose-finding trials of the oil, in adult male prisoners in Malaya and Java; Samuel Darling wrote up the results, crediting his colleagues M. A. Barber and H. P. Hacker ¹⁸. The endpoint was worms counted in washed stools, with a 'test treatment' of full-dose chenopodium a week later to count the worms the trial drug had missed ¹⁸. Oil of chenopodium at 1 cc in capsules three times at hourly intervals, 3 cc in all, removed 98.9 percent of the hookworms present in 17 men (Darling's text gives 96.9 percent for this course, his table 98.9); 2 cc as a single dose removed 95.8 percent in 25; 0.5 cc three times removed 95.4 percent in 9; 0.25 cc three times removed 80 percent in 10 ¹⁸. Against the same yardstick, thymol at 30 grains (an apothecary weight of about 65 mg each, so roughly 2 g) twice removed 88.6 percent, eucalyptus with chloroform 46.9 percent and beta-naphthol 26.7 percent, and two courses of half-dose chenopodium removed 99.03 percent of worms in 39 men against 79 to 84 percent for two courses of thymol ¹⁸. Higher doses of thymol narrowed the gap: 30 grains three times (90 grains) removed 97.8 percent of worms in 19 men and 60 grains three times 96.5 percent in 9, although 40 grains three times removed only 54.2 percent in 19, and vomiting limited the larger doses; the oil's advantage was largest at the doses usually given ¹⁸. Six patients who died later of other diseases after the full course were found at autopsy to have lost 99.4 percent of their worms ¹⁸. Darling also recorded the first limit: the oil removed 96.8 percent of Necator americanus but only 76.6 percent of Ancylostoma duodenale, which made up a larger share of the worms in the Chinese prisoners than in the Tamils and Malays, whose hookworms were mostly Necator, and larger worms of both species resisted more ¹⁸. These were small groups of men chosen 'at random' within nationality, not randomized trials, there was no untreated comparison group, and the endpoint was worms expelled rather than persons cured, which later workers would come to distrust ^18,21. Darling himself warned that a vermicide is 'a drug poisonous to man as well as to the worm' ¹⁸.

Mass treatment followed. The Calcutta reviewers wrote in 1932 that the oil had been used 'on an extensive scale for mass treatment as was being done at one time under the auspices of the International Health Board of the Rockefeller Foundation', and an International Health Board officer in Bangkok reported 'successful hookworm control' with the combined oil in 1925 ^1,52. The earlier Sanitary Commission campaign of 1909 to 1914, which dewormed with thymol before the oil came into wide use, is still measurable: in a quasi-experimental analysis of nearly four million death records, deworming before the age of five in its counties was associated with 2.5 additional months of life ⁹⁹. The Brazilian and Chinese chapters reach this page secondhand, through Chandler and Mukerji's 1925 review in Calcutta, because the original papers are not in PubMed: Smillie and Pessoa in Brazil in 1922 found that carbon tetrachloride and ascaridole did not increase each other's toxicity and were complementary, the carbon tetrachloride acting especially on female Necator and the ascaridole on male hookworms and on Ascaris, and recommended 2 cc of a three-to-one mixture; Lambert in Fiji, after several deaths following carbon tetrachloride in patients carrying many Ascaris, adopted ten parts carbon tetrachloride to one of chenopodium; Bercovitz 'in China, adopted Lambert's method' in Hainan in 1924 'and considers it safe and effective'; Soper in Paraguay gave 2.4 cc of a three-to-one mixture to 40 heavily infected patients and obtained 10 percent worm-count cures, 35 percent microscopic cures and removal of 96.5 percent of worms ⁵¹. The same review records the one contrary result, from Sawyer and Sweet in Australia in 1924, whose groups of 24 patients did worse with 5 cc carbon tetrachloride plus 0.75 cc oil than with either drug alone ⁵¹. Brazil suited the oil: Darling found that only 2 to 4 percent of Brazilian hookworms were Ancylostoma, the species it handled worst ¹⁸. No cure rates for the Brazilian or Chinese mass campaigns could be found in a source opened for this page; Bercovitz's Hainan regimen is known only as Lambert's ten-to-one mixture ⁵¹. Samuel Darling himself was by 1919 director of the Institute of Hygiene in São Paulo, which is how the Malaya results were written up from Brazil ¹⁸.

Carbon tetrachloride, introduced by Maurice Hall in 1921, cut into the oil's monopoly almost at once, and the two were soon combined ^1,51. Chandler and Mukerji treated 70 lightly infected Calcutta patients with 60 minims (about 3.6 cc) of carbon tetrachloride in milk and 15 minims (about 0.9 cc) of oil of chenopodium in a capsule, with a magnesium sulfate purge two hours later, and judged cure by six negative stool examinations: the combination was no better than carbon tetrachloride alone for pure Necator infection but 'strikingly higher' in cures for Ancylostoma, and they recommended it wherever Ancylostoma and Ascaris were common ⁵¹; in India, the 1932 review added, mixed infection was 'the rule rather than the exception' ¹. The combination had a cost advantage as well as a safety logic: carbon tetrachloride sold at 2 rupees 8 annas a pound against 32 rupees for the oil, and the dose of oil fell from 3.0 cc alone to 1.0 cc in combination ¹. Reed in Borneo in 1923 and O'Brien in Siam in 1925 reported the same mixture ^52,100.

The more rigorous trials of the 1930s, on Assam tea estates where, by Hare and Dutta's estimate, about ninety percent of adults carried hookworm, show the oil at its best and its worst ^20,21. Manson in 1934 treated 300 laborers in four groups, with egg counts before and ten days after treatment: tetrachloroethylene 4 cc cleared roundworm eggs in 60.00 percent and the mixture of tetrachloroethylene 3 cc with oil of chenopodium 1 cc in 59.65 percent, against lower figures for the other two groups; by Fisher's t test (a calculation of whether a difference between groups is larger than chance would produce), oil of chenopodium 3 cc was 'very significantly better' than tetrachloroethylene 3 cc for roundworm, and about equal to tetrachloroethylene 4 cc, while for hookworm the mixture and the 4 cc dose were best, with 60 to 68 percent cures after one treatment ²⁰. Five years later Hare and Dutta treated 188 anemic laborers in alternate batches and judged cure by Clayton-Lane flotation at day 14: of 17 given 20 minims of oil of chenopodium, one was partly cured and 16 not cured; of 87 given 4 cc of tetrachloroethylene, 42 (48.3 percent) were absolutely cured and 13 (14.9 percent) not cured; the figures for the 84 given 30 minims are illegible in the surviving scan ²¹. The authors called their chenopodium results 'frankly, disappointing', wondered whether repeated prior treatment had produced 'chenopodium-resistance', and set out five requirements for a mass-treatment drug: non-toxic, reasonably palatable, easily dispensed, effective in one dose and inexpensive ²¹. They judged the oil, then 'probably, at present, the most largely used anthelmintic', costly and very unpleasant to take, found that a dose cost twice as much as one of tetrachloroethylene, and concluded that tetrachloroethylene came nearer to all five ²¹. By then the verdict was in: 'before the advent of carbon tetrachloride and tetrachlorethylene, oil of chenopodium was largely used in the treatment of hookworm infection all over the world', the Calcutta chemists wrote in 1943, in the past tense, even as wartime shortage of tetrachloroethylene forced them back to the old oil ⁹. The Soviet Union was manufacturing its own oil in the 1950s and still reporting results with chenopodium oil beside piperazine sulfate in 1958 (title only), Cuba and Brazil were still combining it with tetrachloroethylene and hexylresorcinol in 1955 and 1957, and in 1960 it was among the most active substances in a laboratory screen against the dwarf tapeworm ^{101,102,103,104,105}.

The cost: deaths, convulsions, deafness, and the dose-margin problem

The toxicity was known from the start and was the reason the drug had been unpopular before 1913 ¹. What the mass-treatment era added was scale, and a particular kind of victim. On an Assam tea estate in November 1932 (reported in 1933), an assistant medical officer who had treated at least two thousand people over three years with the combined carbon tetrachloride and chenopodium mixture described the only such reaction he had seen: a 26-year-old man who was given 40 minims of carbon tetrachloride and 20 minims of oil, passed highly yellow urine and became delirious the next night, with deep jaundice, dilated pupils and 'acute perversion of mind of delusional character', and recovered within a week; he blamed the combination and could not separate the two drugs, and neither can this page ¹⁰⁶. The fatalities that Lambert saw in Fiji after carbon tetrachloride in heavy Ascaris carriers led him to suspect the roundworms and to add one part of oil of chenopodium to ten of carbon tetrachloride at the usual 3 to 4 cc dose ⁵¹. Carbon tetrachloride was the more feared of the two, and was itself blamed for fatal liver degeneration even at therapeutic doses ²⁰; in 1939 two Assam physicians, citing several reported fatalities, judged it unsuitable for mass treatment ²¹.

The oil's own case literature is mostly from the 1940s and 1950s, when it was still being given to children for roundworm after it had left the hookworm campaigns. Guyton reported 'poisoning due to oil of chenopodium' in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1946, a Philippine paper in 1947 examined its toxicity when given together with castor oil, and Brant, Haire and Stumpe reported poisoning in the Journal of Pediatrics in 1951 ^23,24,107. In the same year Jelliffe reported three cases of fatal liver damage in African patients treated for ascariasis with the oil; Sansone and Cotellessa in Italy described a child with acute toxic hepatitis, raised blood urea and renal shutdown who was treated successfully by exchange transfusion (replacing the blood by repeatedly removing it and transfusing donor blood); and Agosto published a sixteen-page account of chenopodium oil poisoning in children ^25,26,79. A French forensic team published the autopsy pathology of a child's death in 1955, and in Israel Sadeh described toxic encephalitis with an abnormal electroencephalogram, the brain's electrical record, after the oil ^27,28. In the German-language literature a 1948 pharmacists' note asked whether a death had followed inadequately labeled use of the oil, a 1952 paper discussed the course and treatment of the poisoning, a 1954 report concerned a medicinal poisoning complicated by the sedative chloral hydrate, a further case appeared in 1955, and in 1956 a paper in the Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift was still trying to work out how the dose should be determined ^{31,32,108,109,110}. PubMed holds only the titles of these papers, so the numbers of patients and the doses are not available to this page; what is available is the outline, liver failure with renal shutdown, toxic encephalitis and death in children, which the Mexican and Moroccan cases below fill in with vomiting, coma or drowsiness and multi-organ failure ^{12,22,26,27,28}.

Deafness recurs in the oil's literature. Juul and Vraa-Jensen in 1947 studied the effect of ascaridole on the inner ear's electrical response, the cochlear microphonic, to locate where it acted; Krejci and Bejdl in 1954 used radioactive phosphorus to study the hearing disorder of chenopodium poisoning in the labyrinth, the inner ear; Lurie's 1955 American review of drug ototoxicity listed chenopodium beside quinine, the salicylates and the antibiotics; and as late as 1968 a Polish clinic reported toxic hearing damage in a middle-aged man poisoned with the oil ^{29,30,111,112}. These are title-level sources; none gives the frequency of deafness among those treated, no modern paper found for this page reports it, and whether the ascaridole-poor teas now in use can cause it is unknown.

The margin between cure and death can be put in numbers from one case. In 1996 a girl of two years and nine months in Mexico City was given, on a healer's advice, 40 mL of oil of epazote; she vomited, became comatose, had seizures, dilated pupils, apnea (stopped breathing), metabolic acidosis (acid buildup in the blood) and neurogenic shock (circulatory collapse from failure of the nervous system's control of blood pressure), and died; the electroencephalogram suggested a diffuse encephalopathy, the scan showed severe brain edema with ventricular collapse, and the autopsy found brain edema with death of nerve cells, pneumonia, enteritis, pericholangitis (inflammation around the bile ducts), mild pancreatitis and renal tubular necrosis (death of the kidney's filtering tubules) ²². The oil assayed 39 mg/mL of ascaridole, so she had received 1,560 mg ²². At that strength, and with the oil weighing a little under a gram per mL, it was roughly 4 percent ascaridole, a small fraction of pharmacopeial strength, and 40 mL is more than thirteen times the 3 cc once given to an adult ^1,18,22. The authors give 60 mg as the therapeutic dose formerly used for a child of her age and 1,000 mg as the dose reported lethal in humans, which makes the dose she took 26 times the therapeutic dose and 56 percent above the lethal one, and makes the gap between the two about seventeenfold ²². Seventeenfold sounds wide, and this child received far more than it allowed. Whether the oil's variable strength (40 to 70 percent between brands, a fifth to a quarter lost on the shelf) and dosing by minims and drops caused other deaths is plausible, but no case in the record shows it ^1,9. The plant in that case was identified as Dysphania graveolens, the other Mexican epazote, which shows that the hazard does not stop at the species boundary ^22,90.

The deaths did not end with the oil. In Morocco the plant is M'khinza, a household fever remedy, and the pediatric emergency department of the Children's Hospital in Rabat recorded a five-month-old infant with toxic encephalopathy and a ten-year-old girl with severe dehydration from acute gastroenteritis after undetermined doses of the infusion given for fever; both died in less than twelve hours ⁵³. In 2024 a four-year-old girl in Oujda who had been given four cups of the infusion and a whole-body poultice for a fever developed profuse diarrhea, uncontrollable vomiting and drowsiness within four hours, with a Glasgow coma score of 12 out of 15 (a bedside scale of consciousness on which 15 is normal), blood pressure 80/30, aspartate transaminase 476 and alanine transaminase 188 units per liter, urea 1.29 g/L, creatinine 16.20 mg/L and sodium 124 mEq/L; she was intubated and given drugs to support her circulation, arrested on the way to a brain scan by magnetic resonance imaging and died, in less than six hours, the authors write ¹². Citing earlier work by the Moroccan Poison Control Center, the authors report that plants cause 3 to 5 percent of all poisonings in the country, with a lethality that can reach 17 percent, and that D. ambrosioides ranked fourth, at 6 percent, among plant and traditional-remedy deaths between 2009 and 2020 ¹². Two details complicate the chemistry. The leaf-oil composition the authors quote, whose origin they do not give, was p-cymene 50.0 percent, alpha-terpinene 37.6 percent and ascaridole 3.5 percent, while a Moroccan oil analyzed in 2023 had 17.7 percent ascaridole ^12,13. And the children drank infusions, not oil, and no toxicological tests were done, so the agent in these deaths is not established ^12,53. Remedies applied to the skin raise a further question: a 2011 Moroccan letter on an infant poisoned through the skin by an organophosphate insecticide is indexed in PubMed under this plant, fever remedies, skin application and malathion, which suggests a remedy on the skin that carried an insecticide; only its title and index terms are available, so the details are unknown ¹¹³. An adult in Casablanca who took the herb for persistent COVID-19 fever and developed delirium is reported as the first adult toxic encephalopathy from it, with the authors unable to separate herb from virus ¹¹⁴. In none of the three Moroccan child deaths did toxicology confirm the plant as the cause; that children died within hours of drinking it is an association the laboratory account of the plant does not yet explain ^12,53.

Whether the tea does quieter harm is contested. Argentine workers found that both decoction and infusion of the plant, at 1 to 1,000 micrograms (in the 2005 study, microliters) of extract per mL of culture, increased chromosomal aberrations and sister chromatid exchanges, two measures of DNA damage, and lowered the division rate of cultured human lymphocytes (white blood cells), and attributed the effect to the essential oil because Chenopodium album, a relative without the oil, did nothing ^115,116. A Nigerian group found a whole-plant ethanol extract non-toxic to brine shrimp and free of chromosome damage in rat lymphocytes ¹¹⁷. In rats, aqueous leaf extract at 1.0 g/kg for fifteen days raised alanine transaminase and creatinine with mild vacuolation (small fluid bubbles, a sign of stress) of liver cells, a hydroethanolic flower extract at 500 mg/kg daily raised transaminases and urea with liver inflammation, and the essential oil had an oral median lethal dose of 500 mg/kg, while in mice, aerial-part extracts and fractions at 200 mg/kg for 28 days caused no deaths or changes in blood chemistry, though some organ weights changed ^13,93,94,95. The oldest carcinogenicity test is in mammals. In 1978, as part of a search for causes of esophageal cancer in people who habitually used such herbs, rats given 72 weekly injections under the skin of an aqueous extract of the plant developed tumors in more than half of the animals; the abstract does not say what kind of tumors, and injection under the skin says nothing directly about drinking the tea ¹¹⁸. In 1992, Egyptian toads fed the oil developed liver cancers in 23 percent, with kidney metastases in six animals, after a mean latent period of 3.6 months ¹¹⁹. No study found for this page has tested oral doses for cancer in mammals, and an amphibian result cannot be carried to people.

How it was replaced: from chlorinated solvents to the benzimidazoles

No source opened for this page records a formal withdrawal of oil of chenopodium; it was outcompeted, one property at a time, and as late as 1985 Kliks could write that the oil and ascaridole 'have been and continue to be, used with considerable success in mass treatment campaigns', a claim his abstract does not reference ⁴⁶. A 2009 toxicology paper put the end more simply: the oil 'caused also some fatalities, leading to its commercial disuse' ⁴⁹. Carbon tetrachloride, from 1921, was cheaper by a factor of thirteen and better against Necator, but it damaged the liver and kidneys, and in Fiji it killed heavy Ascaris carriers ^1,20,51. Tetrachloroethylene, proposed by Hall and Shillinger in 1925, kept the price and the Necator effect and dropped most of the organ damage; the Calcutta laboratory's first capsule trial gave only 20.7 percent cures and was abandoned, but when the drug was given as 4 cc shaken into magnesium sulfate solution with 1 cc of oil of chenopodium it cured 31 of 50 hospital patients (62 percent) with one treatment and six more with two, and cats tolerated thirty times the human dose with only slight liver and kidney congestion; Lambert had by then given more than 46,000 treatments in the South Sea islands without a death, and Kendrick had seen one collapse, with recovery, in about 1,500 ¹⁹. Manson's 300 Assam laborers preferred it because it made them pleasantly drunk for an hour, 'several hardened topers returned after a week and asked for a second helping', and he saw one transient jaundice; Hare and Dutta's laborers were 'emphatic' that it tasted sweet where the oil burned, and a dose cost a third of an anna against two-thirds for the oil ^20,21. Tetrachloroethylene was still being reported for hookworm in the Philippines in 1946 and with chenopodium in Cuba and Brazil in the 1950s ^103,104,120.

Hexylresorcinol came from an American program searching systematically for non-toxic anthelmintics ³³. Lamson and colleagues introduced it in 1930 at 1 gram in hard gelatin capsules, and by 1932 reported 263 ascariasis cases with 75 percent cured and 90 percent egg reduction, and a single dose removing 90 to 95 percent of Ascaris and 80 to 85 percent of hookworms by their count ³³. The Calcutta check was less kind: 21 ascariasis cases, 66.6 percent cured; 26 hookworm cases, 7.7 percent cured with 71.4 percent egg reduction; and the authors used that divergence, 51 pooled hookworm cases with 67 percent egg reduction and 3.7 percent cures, to argue that egg reduction does not measure worms killed, because surviving females stop laying after a poisoning ³³. The drug cost about a shilling a dose, lost efficacy if food was taken near the time, and was 'not yet proved to be an efficient substitute'; its one clear virtue was safety ³³.

Piperazine changed the kind of drug. It had been tried against pinworm (threadworm) in children in a British clinical trial reported in 1953, and Goodwin and Standen reported piperazine citrate for roundworm in the British Medical Journal in December 1954 ^34,35. In 1958 Goodwin's apparatus, adult pig Ascaris hung in nylon stockings in warm Tyrode solution (a salt solution that mimics body fluid), showed why it was different: piperazine produced a gradual narcosis whose onset time was related linearly to the logarithm of the concentration, whereas tetrachloroethylene, hexylresorcinol and oil of chenopodium all stimulated the worm's movements before immobilizing it, and santonin merely uncoordinated the head end ⁶⁷. Goodwin's conclusion was that piperazine 'is the safest preparation available for the treatment of ascariasis' ⁶⁷. The same year Goodwin, Jayewardene and Standen reported clinical trials of bephenium hydroxynaphthoate against hookworm in Ceylon ³⁶. The Soviet parasitology literature was still comparing piperazine sulfate with chenopodium oil in 1958, which fixes the overlap of the two eras ¹⁰².

Thiabendazole, an earlier member of the benzimidazole family, was being reported against strongyloidiasis, hookworm, roundworm and whipworm in Brazil by 1962 (title and index terms only) ³⁷. Pyrantel followed in the late 1960s, first in mice and dogs in 1967 and in children by 1970, and its pharmacology was the mirror image of piperazine's: pyrantel is a depolarizing neuromuscular blocker that contracts Ascaris muscle, more than 100 times as potent as acetylcholine, while piperazine relaxes it and blocks pyrantel's effect ^38,39,68. Mebendazole, then compound R-17,635, was reported in 1971 in a radiochemical and pilot clinical study of 1,278 people with pinworm (title only) and against hookworm eggs and larvae, and in 1972 in a human hookworm trial in India and a placebo-controlled German trial ^{40,41,121,122}. Albendazole, the last of the line, was tested in a randomized double-blind trial in 186 African subjects in 1981, where a single 400 mg dose cured more than 90 percent of ascariasis, and in 91 Malaysian patients in 1983, where 400 to 800 mg cured 100 percent of Ascaris and 98 to 100 percent of hookworm infections at day 14, falling to 68.8 to 100 percent for hookworm at day 21, with no side effects ^42,54. Mebendazole and albendazole work by binding the worm's tubulin, the protein scaffold of its cells, and bind it far more stably at body temperature in parasitic nematodes than in mammalian tubulin, a mechanism with nothing in common with an iron-activated peroxide ¹²³.

The modern yardstick is a pair of meta-analyses, studies that pool the results of many trials. From twenty randomized trials, single-dose albendazole, mebendazole and pyrantel pamoate cured 88, 95 and 88 percent of Ascaris infections, 72, 15 and 31 percent of hookworm infections, and albendazole and mebendazole cured 28 and 36 percent of whipworm infections ⁴³. From 55 trials, albendazole's hookworm cure rate was 79.5 percent (95 percent confidence interval, the range within which the true value probably lies, 71.5 to 85.6) with an 89.6 percent egg reduction, no drug cured more than 42.1 percent of whipworm infections, and albendazole's whipworm efficacy fell between 1995 and 2015, the cure rate from 38.6 to 16.4 percent, which the authors read as a warning of drift and a reason to look for new anthelmintics ⁴⁴. Combination therapy is the current answer to that drift, with mixed results: in a 2025 double-blind trial on Pemba Island, Tanzania, moxidectin with albendazole cured 69 percent of whipworm infections in school-aged children against 16 percent with albendazole alone, whereas in Côte d'Ivoire in 2023 neither moxidectin nor ivermectin with albendazole beat albendazole alone (15.3 and 22.5 against 13.4 percent) ^45,124. Set beside these figures, Darling's 98.9 percent worm removal is not comparable, because removal of worms is not cure of persons, and Manson's 60 to 68 percent egg-negative rates after one dose of the mixture or of 4 cc tetrachloroethylene are close to modern single-dose albendazole (72 to 79.5 percent) and well above mebendazole (15 percent) and pyrantel pamoate (31 percent) for hookworm, though measured with a less sensitive stool method ^18,20,43,44. The oil was not replaced only because it failed. It cost far more than the chlorinated solvents, was unpleasant to take, varied in strength and, in the 1939 single-dose trial, disappointed; carbon tetrachloride was cheaper, tetrachloroethylene, hexylresorcinol and piperazine were safer, and the benzimidazoles finally cleared several kinds of worm with one small dose ^{1,9,19,21,33,42,54,67}.

How ascaridole works, as far as it is known

Ascaridole is a peroxide, and its action is best understood by analogy with artemisinin, the antimalarial endoperoxide, an analogy the 2025 systematic review makes explicit ⁵⁵. In cell-free systems, ferrous iron or hemin together with a thiol reductant such as cysteine cleaves the oxygen-oxygen bridge to give secondary alkyl radicals, detected by electron spin resonance with spin traps, and the fragments lose their isopropyl groups along the way; inside promastigotes of Leishmania tarentolae, a lizard parasite used as a stand-in for the human species, the same carbon-centered radicals appear, and the iron chelator deferoxamine (a drug that binds and removes iron) suppresses them ⁵⁰. 1,4-cineole, a close analogue in which a single ether oxygen bridges a saturated ring in place of the oxygen-oxygen bridge, makes no radicals, is far less toxic and is not at all selective for the parasite over mouse macrophages ⁵⁰. Ascaridole binds heme more weakly than artemisinin does, and Leishmania carry twice the iron of macrophages, which the Vienna group offers as the basis of selectivity ⁵⁰. In rat liver mitochondria ascaridole without iron was the least toxic of the oil's three main constituents, but ferrous iron potentiated its effect on oxidative phosphorylation and started lipid peroxidation, and reduced hemin, though not cytochrome c, could activate it, which explained why mouse peritoneal macrophages were more sensitive than isolated mitochondria ⁴⁹. In Leishmania donovani, a cause of the human visceral disease, the downstream events were a rise in reactive oxygen species (oxygen-containing molecules that damage cells), lipid peroxidation (oxidative damage to cell membranes), thiol depletion (loss of the cell's sulfur-based antioxidants), inhibition of glycolysis (the sugar-burning pathway) rather than of mitochondrial respiration, loss of membrane potential, ATP depletion (loss of the cell's energy currency) and an apoptosis-like (programmed) death ⁶⁶. All of this is in vitro.

What ascaridole does to a worm is less clear than what it does to a Leishmania. The direct observation is Goodwin's: the oil stimulated the movements of adult Ascaris before immobilizing them, in company with tetrachloroethylene and hexylresorcinol and in contrast to piperazine ⁶⁷. Darling's trials add that the oil removed Necator far more completely than Ancylostoma (96.8 against 76.6 percent), that resistance rose with the size of the worm, and that food in the gut seemed to 'lock up or absorb' some of the drug, 'leaving a smaller portion to come in contact with the worms' ¹⁸. This page reads that, without direct evidence, as more consistent with a contact poison acting dose by dose on each worm than with a receptor drug. Whether iron-dependent radical formation operates in a worm's gut, as it does in a parasite's cytoplasm, has not been tested. A hexane extract of the plant killed 96.3 percent of Haemonchus contortus larvae, a sheep stomach worm, in vitro at 40 mg/mL and reduced the worm burden of infected gerbils by 45.8 percent when injected into the abdomen, the nearest modern animal test of the plant against a parasitic nematode, but it used neither the oil nor pure ascaridole nor the oral route ¹²⁵.

The host-side pharmacology is thin. The one pharmacokinetic study, a study of how a drug is absorbed and cleared, measured ascaridole, p-cymene and alpha-terpinene in rat plasma after oral dosing with the plant, with limits of quantitation of 50, 10 and 5 ng/mL, which establishes absorption but gives no human figure; most of its authors were employees of a Chinese pharmaceutical company, Tasly Holding Group ¹²⁶. Inhaled oil, ascaridole and p-cymene sedated mice through the GABA-benzodiazepine receptor (the brain's main calming receptor, the target of Valium-type drugs), the effect being blocked by flumazenil, a drug that blocks that receptor, and did not impair coordination on a rotating rod ⁷¹. The whole oil killed normal human liver cells in culture by the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway at 35 to 65 micrograms per mL, and a chloroform fraction given to rats at 50 to 200 mg/kg opened the mitochondrial permeability transition pore and fragmented liver DNA, with fatty change and inflammatory cells in the liver ^69,70. Beyond ascaridole the plant contains carvacrol, caryophyllene oxide, kaempferitrin and other flavonoids, nine alkaloids led by N-formylnorgalanthamine, and, reported in 2026, nine malabaricane saponins (soap-like triterpenoids, thirty-carbon plant molecules) new to the family and two highly oxygenated monoterpenes, so that attributing any whole-plant effect, good or bad, to ascaridole alone is an assumption ^{49,93,127,128,129,130}. A docking study that found ascaridole could fit the NMDA receptor (a glutamate receptor involved in pain signaling) in silico, offered to explain an anti-osteoarthritis effect of the extract in rats, is a computer prediction, not a measurement ¹³¹.

The modern laboratory: Leishmania, Trypanosoma, Plasmodium, amebas, snails and cancer cells

The plant's second life began in Havana. In 2006 Lianet Monzote's group at the Pedro Kouri Institute reported that the Cuban essential oil inhibited Leishmania amazonensis promastigotes and amastigotes at 50 percent effective doses of 3.7 and 4.6 micrograms per mL, with moderate toxicity to mouse macrophages, and that 30 mg/kg/day by intraperitoneal injection (into the abdominal cavity) for 15 days was effective in infected BALB/c mice (a standard laboratory strain) ¹³². The next year the same dose by injection prevented lesion growth and reduced parasite burden, oral dosing was weaker, injection into the lesion did nothing, and both effective routes beat amphotericin B at 1 mg/kg, with toxicity only from the intraperitoneal route and no resistance in recovered parasites ¹³³. By 2009 oral oil at 30 to 150 mg/kg for 15 days reduced lesions in a dose-dependent way, with a 50 percent effective dose of 51.4 mg/kg, and at 150 mg/kg outperformed glucantime (meglumine antimoniate), amphotericin B and pentamidine, the standard drugs for leishmaniasis, without gross toxicity ¹³⁴. Against Leishmania donovani, a cause of the visceral disease that attacks the internal organs, the oil was active in vitro at about 4.5 to 5.1 micrograms per mL ¹³⁵, and against L. amazonensis promastigotes it was synergistic with pentamidine but indifferent with meglumine antimoniate and amphotericin B ¹³⁶. A 2020 systematic review of 35 plant oils against L. amazonensis rated the included studies of moderate methodological quality and named this oil, given by mouth, as one of three that reduced parasite load and lesion size in mice; no human study of any of them exists ¹³⁷.

Then the program ran into its own reversal. When the three major constituents were tested separately in 2014, ascaridole was the most potent against the parasite in culture and the whole oil the most selective, and the mechanism in both cases was collapse of the parasite's mitochondrial membrane potential; but in infected mice, injected into the lesion at 30 mg/kg every four days, the whole oil prevented lesions and beat glucantime while pure ascaridole, carvacrol and caryophyllene oxide each did nothing, and an artificial mixture of the three pure compounds killed the animals within three days ^48,138. The whole-oil result also reversed the group's own 2007 finding that injection into the lesion did nothing, at a different dosing schedule ^48,133. The group's answer was combination: ascaridole with carvacrol was synergistic in vitro, with a fractional inhibitory concentration index of 0.171 and the best ratio 1 to 4, and intralesional combinations reduced lesion size and parasite burden in mice; the chemical reason offered is that carvacrol, an antioxidant phenol, quenches the carbon radicals ascaridole makes with iron ¹³⁹. Formulating the oil in nanocochleates, lipid carriers, did not improve it and in one arm made lesions larger ¹⁴⁰. The 2022 Kolkata study put numbers on pure ascaridole against L. donovani: 50 percent inhibitory concentrations of 2.47 micromolar for promastigotes and 2.00 for amastigotes against 50 percent cytotoxic concentrations of 41.47 and 37.58 micromolar in mouse macrophages, a selectivity of about fifteen- to twentyfold in culture ⁶⁶. Cultured cells, not people; and a pure compound with only a fifteen- to twentyfold margin in a dish.

The other protozoa (single-celled parasites) follow the same pattern. Against cultured Plasmodium falciparum, the malaria parasite, ascaridole arrested development at 0.05 micromolar and cleared the culture at 0.1 micromolar within three days, acting mainly on the trophozoite stage (the feeding, multiplying form inside red cells), and cineole, which carries an epoxide in place of the peroxide, was inactive, which placed the activity in the peroxide bridge as early as 1990 ⁷³. In 2014 only the whole oil, not its constituents, was active against P. falciparum and Trypanosoma brucei in a screening panel, and nothing in it touched bacteria or fungi ¹³⁸. The two results conflict: pure ascaridole was strongly active in 1990 and inactive in the 2014 panel, and the 2014 abstract does not discuss the difference ^73,138. Against Trypanosoma cruzi, the cause of Chagas disease, ascaridole was active at 23 micromolar in the epimastigote culture form, while four limonene-derived hydroperoxides from the fresh leaves were active at 0.8 to 3.1 micromolar ¹⁴¹. Against Entamoeba histolytica, the cause of amebic dysentery, the oil inhibited trophozoites at 0.7 mg/mL and, by mouth at 8 and 80 mg/kg, reversed amebic liver abscess in hamsters ¹⁴². Against the snails that carry schistosomiasis, a Brazilian oil of 10.26 percent ascaridole killed Biomphalaria glabrata at a median lethal concentration of 25.2 micrograms per mL and Schistosoma mansoni cercariae (the free-swimming larvae that burrow into human skin) at 62.4, but also zebrafish at 18.6, and an 87 percent ascaridole oil killed every Biomphalaria tenagophila snail at 10 ppm (parts per million) ^16,63. No malaria, Chagas, amebiasis or schistosomiasis trial in a human has been done with any of these preparations.

The cancer work is almost all in dishes. Efferth's group isolated ascaridole from a commercial oil in 2002 and found it active against leukemia and breast cancer lines including multidrug-resistant sublines, calling the result 'the first hint' ⁶⁴. A 2012 screen of 53 phytochemicals found ascaridole the most selective of all for cells lacking the DNA-repair genes ERCC6 or XPC: 50 percent inhibitory concentrations of 0.15 and 0.18 micromolar against more than 180 micromolar in repair-competent cells, a thousandfold difference, with G2/M arrest (a halt just before cell division) and oxidative DNA damage only in the deficient cells, which the authors proposed as a synthetic-lethality strategy for tumors with those mutations ¹⁴³. The only in vivo cancer test of the pure compound used ascaridole from a Brazilian Croton, which inhibited sarcoma 180 in mice by 33.9 percent at 10 mg/kg with only weak organ effects ¹⁴⁴. Extracts of the plant inhibit liver, breast, cervical and oral cancer cell lines at micrograms per milliliter, but the normal-cell comparisons cut both ways: the oil killed normal human liver cells at 35 to 65 micrograms per mL, and in 2026 four extracts killed normal keratinocytes (skin cells) more readily than oral cancer cells, 'a broad-spectrum cytotoxic activity without tumor-specific therapeutic targeting' ^{62,69,145,146}. The one xenograft result with a defined compound, in which human tumors are grown in mice, used kaempferitrin, a flavonoid from the ethanol extract, which reduced human liver-tumor grafts over 30 days and lowered liver enzymes; a 2024 network-pharmacology paper (database mining of predicted drug targets) predicted that it acts through SIRT1 and TP53, two genes that control cell survival, with some cell and mouse experiments in support ^127,147. A 2026 rat study that opens mitochondrial pores and fragments liver DNA with a chloroform fraction is published as anticancer mechanism and reads equally as hepatotoxicity ⁷⁰.

The part of the modern laboratory that has reached the market is pest control, which is where the plant's chemistry is least ambiguous. The oil and (Z)-ascaridole fumigate maize weevils at median lethal concentrations of 3.08 and 0.84 mg per liter of air; the oil and cis-ascaridole kill Culex mosquito larvae and adults at 5 to 20 microliters per liter while inhibiting the insect's acetylcholinesterase (the enzyme that switches off nerve signals); a Cameroonian oil of 61.4 percent ascaridole kills houseflies; a Brazilian oil of 80 percent total ascaridoles stops eight storage fungi at 0.3 percent; and a commercial biopesticide, Requiem EC, made from an essential-oil extract of the plant, was marketed against spider mites as of 2017 and has been tested on their eggs, larvae and adults ^{7,14,15,60,148}. In 2025 an Argentine ethanol extract rich in thymol and carvacrol repelled and killed a blister beetle that strips horticultural crops, and an Egyptian shoot oil whose dominant compound was ascaridole suppressed the germination of weeds ^65,83. A 2026 Egyptian trial fed a methanolic extract to 210 broiler chicks in their drinking water and improved feed conversion (feed eaten per unit of weight gained, where lower is better) from 1.47 to 1.28 with fewer coliforms (gut bacteria of the E. coli group) in the cecum, the plant's newest commercial direction ¹⁴⁹. None of this is medicine, and most of it has been shown only in laboratory bioassays; one product, Requiem EC, was on the market as of 2017 ⁶⁰.

Boldo and the other ascaridole plants

Wormseed is not the only plant that makes ascaridole, and the others carry the same double character. Boldo, Peumus boldus, is a Chilean tree whose dried leaves are sold worldwide as a herbal tea, taken for digestive and liver complaints; Chile exports about 2,000 tons of boldo leaf a year ¹⁵⁰. Its leaf-pocket oil contains ascaridole as a lesser component than wormseed's, likewise racemic, though the enzyme that makes it was shown only in wormseed ⁸; the amount is genetically determined, highest in northern Chilean populations and lowest in the south, with heritability (the share of variation due to genes) high enough that breeders could select for or against it ¹⁵¹. The figures vary accordingly: 51.17 percent ascaridole in one Chilean leaf oil, 31.4 percent in a Brazilian sample that could be enriched to 89.5 percent by fractionation, 9.1 percent in a commercial Chilean leaf with 1,8-cineole and p-cymene ahead of it ^150,152,153. The tea is not the oil. In ten commercial Chilean boldo products, ascaridole was a chemical marker in every sample's distilled oil, but the volatile fraction of the brewed infusion was dominated by terpineol and limonene dioxide, and the oils, not the teas, were highly cytotoxic in a brine-shrimp assay ¹⁵⁴. Boldo oil kills mosquito larvae and houseflies, which is what the ascaridole fraction is being developed for ^150,153. Boldo tea has its own case reports. A 72-year-old woman in Portugal developed jaundice after two weeks of boldo-leaf infusion, judged probable boldo-induced liver injury once other causes were excluded, and recovered on stopping it ¹⁵⁵. A 78-year-old kidney-transplant recipient in New York had levels of tacrolimus, an antirejection drug, below the therapeutic range while he took boldo, and they recovered after he stopped ¹⁵⁶. A twelve-year-old French girl developed behavioral disturbance and hallucinations after boldo infusions, attributed by the authors to its alkaloid boldine, not to ascaridole ¹⁵⁷. All three are single cases, which can raise a suspicion but cannot prove a cause.

Marsh rosemary, Ledum palustre, growing in Poland yielded a rare chemotype with 35.3 percent ascaridole plus isoascaridole and 25.5 percent p-cymene; it killed mosquitoes, moths and flies, spared earthworms, was moderately toxic to water fleas, and in human skin cells had 50 percent inhibitory concentrations of 71.3 and 84.4 micrograms per mL with no DNA damage on the comet assay ¹⁵⁸. A Brazilian Croton, velame-de-cheiro, used in folk medicine against tumors, carries ascaridole as a main constituent of its leaf oil, and it was from this plant that the one in vivo antitumor test of ascaridole was done ¹⁴⁴. Another Brazilian Croton, C. pulegiodorus, yields a leaf oil of 27.57 percent ascaridole that caused no deaths or skin irritation when applied once to the skin of mice at up to 2,000 mg/kg, though the 1,000 mg/kg group showed falls in red cells, white cells and platelets ¹⁵⁹. Ascaridole also appears where nobody planted it. Tea tree oil left in light oxidizes its alpha-terpinene into ascaridole and isoascaridole within days to months, and in 11 patients allergic to tea tree oil, patch tests (small amounts applied under tape to the skin) reacted mostly to alpha-terpinene, terpinolene and ascaridole, the only human evidence found for this page that the molecule sensitizes skin ¹⁶⁰. Dysphania graveolens, the other Mexican epazote, supplied the oil in the 1996 fatal poisoning and has its own pain-relieving flavonoids ^22,90. Within Dysphania ambrosioides itself the ascaridole chemotypes of Brazil, Cameroon and Madagascar stand at one end and, at the other, the alpha-terpinene chemotypes of Nigeria, Ecuador and Morocco, a p-cymene-dominated leaf oil quoted in a Moroccan report, and the thymol-carvacrol chemotype of Bulgaria, so that 'ascaridole plant' is a description that has to be checked sample by sample ^{10,11,12,13,14,15,17,81}.

What the 2023-2026 literature adds

The plant's literature is growing faster than its evidence. Three reviews frame it. A Moroccan review of M'khinza (online 2023, print 2024) lists more than 96 bioactive compounds and antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiparasitic, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer, antidiabetic and vasorelaxant reports, concludes that toxicity is dose-dependent and that mechanisms must be fixed before any clinical trial ⁵⁹. A 2025 review of epazote cut 814 Scopus records by 86.73 percent with an artificial-intelligence clustering tool before reading them, a method noted here as a limitation, and reaches the same end point: much research is required before safety or efficacy can be judged ¹⁶¹. The 2025 systematic review of ascaridole itself finds broad activity in experimental models, an artemisinin-like mechanism, a scarcity of studies of the purified compound and no clinical data ⁵⁵.

The 2025 genome is the solid new fact: a tetraploid, chromosome-scale assembly of 469.23 megabases and 24,424 genes, complete enough (99.01 percent of a standard set of genes that almost every plant carries in one copy) to support a search for the ascaridole pathway that has not yet been reported ⁶. Chemotype papers of 2026 report an ascaridole-poor alpha-terpinene type from Ecuador that varies with soil and yields almost no oil, and a thymol-carvacrol type from Bulgaria; a 2025 Argentine extract rich in thymol and carvacrol, and a 2025 shoot oil from South Sinai, Egypt, whose dominant compound was ascaridole at 8.87 percent, widen the chemotype map further ^11,17,65,83. Vietnamese chemists in 2026 isolated nine new malabaricane saponins (soap-like triterpenoids, thirty-carbon plant molecules) and two new highly oxygenated monoterpenes from the plant with moderate anti-inflammatory activity in mouse macrophages, the first malabaricane triterpenoids reported from the Amaranthaceae ^128,129,130. Chinese ecologists report the plant as a heavy-metal hyperaccumulator (a plant that concentrates metals from soil far above normal levels) whose seeds carry metal-resistant bacteria, and as one of four Amaranthaceae invaders projected to move north with warming ^5,162. Chemical engineers, for their part, now use the conversion of alpha-terpinene to ascaridole as a model reaction for scaling up light-driven oxidation ⁷⁸.

On safety the news is the 2024 fatal case from Oujda, which adds a laboratory picture and the poison-center ranking to the 2018 deaths, and the 2023 rat finding that the essential oil's oral median lethal dose is 500 mg/kg; a 2026 Moroccan analysis found a methanol leaf extract free of acute toxicity at a single 5,000 mg/kg dose in rats ^12,13,53,57. On the therapeutic side the 2026 papers are preclinical and mixed: cardioprotection in isolated rat hearts, reduction of starch-induced hyperglycemia in rats with antibacterial activity in vitro, cytotoxicity to breast and cervical cancer lines that differs between Colombian and Brazilian material, a negative selectivity result in oral cancer cells, and a rat study of mitochondrial pore opening published as anticancer mechanism ^{62,70,146,163,164}. In human parasitology, the 2023 and 2025 combination trials against whipworm moved the modern benchmark the oil is measured against ^45,124. A 2026 poultry trial of the extract in drinking water, and the continued development of ascaridole-rich oils as insecticides and molluscicides, are the applications nearest to practice ^7,63,149.

What has not appeared in these four years is as telling as what has: no clinical trial of any preparation for any indication (the last were small Peruvian studies of paico for worms in 1996 and 2001), no human pharmacokinetic study, no measurement of ascaridole in a culinary dose of epazote, no comparison of chemotypes for toxicity, and no modern report of deafness ^47,89.

What is not known

The gaps are large and specific. First, the agent in the Moroccan tea deaths is not known: the leaf-oil analysis those authors quote was ascaridole-poor (3.5 percent) and of unstated origin, while a Moroccan oil analyzed in 2023 had 17.7 percent ascaridole and 53.4 percent alpha-terpinene; the children drank infusions, and no toxicological assay was done, so the forty years of ascaridole toxicology may not apply to them ^12,13,53. Second, the dose-response of the traditional preparations has never been properly measured in people, either for harm or for benefit: the 1985 Chiapas trial found no effect at twenty times the folk dose, two small Peruvian studies of paico (1996, 2001) reported clearance of worm eggs, and the laboratory suggests the infusion's nematocide is not ascaridole at all ^46,47,82,89. Third, nothing is known of human pharmacokinetics; the only absorption data are from rats ¹²⁶. Fourth, the chemotype of a plant is not visible, and the same species in two countries can be a worm poison or a thyme substitute, so that no statement about 'epazote' is true without an analysis ^10,17. Fifth, the deafness of the oil era is documented only in titles, and whether it depended on dose, on ascaridole or on something else in the oil is unrecoverable from the indexed record ^29,30,111. Sixth, no pure compound from the plant has yet worked on its own in an animal model of infection: pure ascaridole did nothing against Leishmania in mice when the oil did, and the pure constituents together were lethal; in cancer models, ascaridole from another plant gave a third of tumor inhibition and the flavonoid kaempferitrin shrank liver-cancer xenografts in one mouse study, and neither has been tested in people ^48,127,144. Seventh, the plant's genome exists but the enzymes that make ascaridole, beyond the iodide peroxidase described in 1984, have not been found in it ^6,8. Eighth, the one carcinogenicity study in mammals used injections under the skin, not the oral route by which people take the plant ¹¹⁸.

What is known is older and firmer than any of this. A distilled oil of this plant, at 3 cc in an adult, removed almost every hookworm from the men of Malaya and Java in 1915 and 1916, matched in those trials only by thymol at its best dose ¹⁸. An epazote oil given in an overdose of 40 mL, 26 times the old child's dose of ascaridole, killed a child ²². Its potency in the bottle could not be trusted ^9,72. And between 1921 and 1983 it was replaced by drugs that were first cheaper, then safer, and finally effective against several kinds of worm in one small dose ^{1,19,35,42,43,54}. That is the whole case, and it is the case the show exists to tell: a remedy can be real, dangerous and obsolete at once, and the leaf on the kitchen table is a different thing from the drop in the spoon.

The tests, one by one

• Ascaridole assay of the oilThe pharmacopeial standard was the British Pharmacopoeia assay of the peroxide, still being refined in the 1950s, which had to show not less than 65 percent ascaridole; gas chromatography (which separates a vaporized mixture in a heated column) is now usual, but heat in the instrument isomerizes (rearranges) ascaridole to isoascaridole, so a Madagascar oil read 41.8 percent by chromatography and 55.3 percent when corrected by carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance, a method that identifies molecules by the magnetic behavior of their carbon atoms ^9,80,81.Quality control of the historic drug and of modern oils, biopesticides and research samples ^9,81Chromatography alone under-read the active peroxide by about a quarter in the one direct comparison ⁸¹Nothing in a tea: the brewed infusion of boldo, a sister source, was dominated by terpineol rather than ascaridole, and no study has measured ascaridole in epazote tea as drunk ¹⁵⁴
• Stool egg counts and flotation for cureTrials judged the drug by worms counted in washed stools, by egg counts per cubic centimeter of stool before and ten days after treatment, or by Clayton-Lane direct centrifugal flotation (spinning stool in a dense solution so that eggs float up to a cover slip) at day 14, with cure defined as no eggs found ^18,20,21.Every chenopodium trial from 1915 to 1939 and every anthelmintic meta-analysis since ^18,43Egg reduction overstates worm kill, because surviving females stop laying for days after a sublethal dose; the Calcutta workers combined 51 hookworm cases with 67 percent egg reduction and 3.7 percent cures to make the point ³³Light infections, which clear least predictably; the 1939 authors preferred the percentage of persons rendered egg-free over the percentage of worms expelled for exactly this reason ²¹
• Authenticating the plantClassical pharmacognosy (the study of crude plant drugs) fixes microscopic leaf measurements for the dried herb (palisade ratio 5.6, vein-islet number 14.8, stomatal indices 16.44 and 18.67, which count leaf cells, vein spaces and pores), and DNA barcoding, reading a short standard stretch of DNA called ITS2, checks the species; of 20 online herbal products barcoded in one survey, four did not match their labels, one of them sold as epazote ^61,91.Herbal quality control ^61,91 and, in the 1996 fatal case, identification of the plant behind a poisoning ²²Barcoding identifies the species but not the chemotype, and the chemotype decides whether ascaridole is present at all ^10,17A second Mexican species, Dysphania graveolens, is also called epazote and was the plant in the 1996 fatal oil ^22,90
• Laboratory picture in poisoningThe 2024 fatal Moroccan case showed aspartate transaminase 476 and alanine transaminase 188 units per liter (liver enzymes; the laboratory's upper limits were 35 and 55), gamma-glutamyl transferase (a bile-duct enzyme) 102, urea 1.29 g/L, creatinine 16.20 mg/L, sodium 124 mEq/L and calcium 79 mg/L within hours; the 1996 case showed metabolic acidosis (acid buildup in the blood), an electroencephalogram (a record of the brain's electrical activity) suggesting diffuse encephalopathy, and severe brain edema with ventricular collapse on computed tomography ^12,22.Emergency assessment of a child who has taken the herb or oil ¹²Nonspecific: the same pattern follows many toxins, and the only blood measurements of ascaridole are from rats ¹²⁶Toxicological tests were not performed in the 2024 case, and the 2018 cases ingested undetermined doses, so the dose-response in infusion poisoning is unknown ^12,53

Where it connects

Sources

164 sources, numbered as they are cited. Every one was checked against PubMed or its publisher before it was cited here; the note under each says what it shows and what it does not.

1. 1
   Chopra RN, Mukherji B. Indian Chenopodium.Ind Med Gaz · 1932 · 67(1):5-7PMID 29010929

   Primary historical account from the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine, read in full from the PubMed Central scan. States the plant's use by American Indians, Bäumler and Fribourg's 1881 introduction into Europe, Schüffner and Verwoerd's 1913 Sumatra hookworm trial at 3 cc doses, large-scale distillation in Baltimore ('Baltimore oil') and Illinois ('western oil'), ascaridole at 40 to 70 percent of samples, varying toxicity between stocks, Hall's 1921 carbon tetrachloride, Rockefeller International Health Board mass treatment, and the 3.0 cc versus 1.0 cc doses. Cites only Nelson's 1920 paper on distillation and does not mention Wallach; describes the plant as native to Central America and the West Indies, the fruit as once official in the U.S. Pharmacopeia, and a cultivated belt 'near Weston in America' with no unit given for its yield. An expert narrative of its time, not a trial. Indian Medical Gazette scans carry no DOI.

2. 2
   Mosyakin SL, Clemants SE. New nomenclatural combinations in Dysphania R. Br. (Chenopodiaceae): taxa occurring in North America.Ukrayins'kyi Botanichnyi Zhurnal · 2002 · 59(4):380-385

   Primary document, not indexed in PubMed: the botanical paper that transferred Chenopodium ambrosioides L. to Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin & Clemants (the combination is on page 382, published 3 September 2002). The citation and page were confirmed from botanical name registries listed in a web search; the paper itself was not opened, so no URL is given and nothing beyond the fact and date of the combination is taken from it.

3. 3
   Fuentes-Bazan S, Mansion G, Borsch T. Towards a species level tree of the globally diverse genus Chenopodium (Chenopodiaceae).Mol Phylogenet Evol · 2012 · 62(1):359-74doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.10.006 · PMID 22051350

   Molecular phylogeny of 140 taxa using chloroplast trnL-F and nuclear ITS sequences; shows Chenopodium as traditionally defined is highly paraphyletic, and that the aromatic species belong to a separate early branch, tribe Dysphanieae (Dysphania, Teloxys, Suckleya). This is the genetic justification for the renaming. Says nothing about pharmacology.

4. 4
   Park MJ, Cho SE, Wolcan S, Shin HD. First Report of Powdery Mildew Caused by Erysiphe betae on the Invasive Weed Dysphania ambrosioides in Korea.Plant Dis · 2012 · 96(4):592doi:10.1094/PDIS-11-11-1003 · PMID 30727408

   States the plant is native to Central America, South America and southern Mexico, is used as herb, tea and food in warm parts of Europe, the United States and Asia, and was accidentally introduced to Korea around the 1970s where it became an invasive weed. Plant pathology note; cited for distribution.

5. 5
   Lin M, Ye X, Zhao Z, Chen S, Liu B. Comparative Analysis of Habitat Expansion Mechanisms for Four Invasive Amaranthaceae Plants Under Current and Future Climates Using MaxEnt.Plants (Basel) · 2025 · 14(15):2363doi:10.3390/plants14152363 · PMID 40805712

   Models four invasive Amaranthaceae in China, Dysphania ambrosioides among them, projecting northward spread with warming; cites annual ecosystem damage of 2.6 billion yuan for the group. Ecology, not medicine.

6. 6
   Frandsen PB, Borgmeier A, Bratsman S, et al. A chromosome-scale genome assembly and annotation of the tetraploid herb "epazote" (Dysphania ambrosioides).G3 (Bethesda) · 2025 · 15(11):jkaf191doi:10.1093/g3journal/jkaf191 · PMID 40828868

   First chromosome-scale genome: 469.23 megabase pairs in 191 scaffolds, 98.17 percent in the 16 largest, 24,424 annotated genes, 51.81 percent repetitive, tetraploid with a relatively old whole-genome duplication, its homoeologous chromosome pairs, with few exceptions, no longer identifiable by gene order. A resource paper; it identifies no ascaridole genes.

7. 7
   Almadiy AA. Chemical profile, mosquitocidal, and biochemical effects of essential oil and major components of Dysphania ambrosioides against Culex quinquefasciatus Say.Environ Sci Pollut Res Int · 2020 · 27(33):41568-41576doi:10.1007/s11356-020-10137-z · PMID 32691320

   Gives the systematic chemical name of cis-ascaridole, 1-methyl-4-(1-methylethyl)-2,3-dioxabicyclo[2.2.2]oct-5-ene, and shows the oil and cis-ascaridole kill mosquito larvae and adults at 5 to 20 microliters per liter with inhibition of larval acetylcholinesterase. Insect and enzyme data only.

8. 8
   Johnson MA, Croteau R. Biosynthesis of ascaridole: iodide peroxidase-catalyzed synthesis of a monoterpene endoperoxide in soluble extracts of Chenopodium ambrosioides fruit.Arch Biochem Biophys · 1984 · 235(1):254-66doi:10.1016/0003-9861(84)90274-1 · PMID 6497393

   Enzyme work on fruit and leaf extracts: ascaridole is 60 to 80 percent of the volatile oil of American wormseed fruit and a lesser component of boldo leaf oil; both plants make it in racemic form; it is formed from alpha-terpinene by a soluble iodide peroxidase at pH 4 with hydrogen peroxide and iodide. In vitro plant biochemistry.

9. 9
   Mukerji AK, Ghosh BK. Deterioration of Ascaridol in Oil of Chenopodium.Ind Med Gaz · 1943 · 78(5):234-235PMID 29012183

   Read in full. States that the United States and British Pharmacopoeias (the latter from 1932) required not less than 65 percent ascaridole; quotes samples of 45 to 70 percent; a two-year-old bottle labeled B.P. assayed at 49.16 percent; two samples fell from 65.4 and 70.1 percent to 52.6 to 56.3 percent by January 1943, a loss of a fifth to a quarter, in light or dark; the starting content of the 49.16 percent bottle was unknown. Also reports Caius and Mhaskar's 1920 finding that one sample held 60 percent for eighteen months and another fell only from 70 to 66 percent in seventeen. Names the assay only as 'the standard B.P. method'. Chemical assay, not patients. No DOI.

10. 10
    Owolabi MS, Lajide L, Oladimeji MO, Setzer WN, Palazzo MC, Olowu RA, Ogundajo A. Volatile constituents and antibacterial screening of the essential oil of Chenopodium ambrosioides L. growing in Nigeria.Nat Prod Commun · 2009 · 4(7):989-92PMID 19731609

    Nigerian oil was alpha-terpinene 63.1 percent, p-cymene 26.4 percent and ascaridole only 3.9 percent; a cluster analysis of published oils found at least seven chemotypes. Chemistry only; no antibacterial activity found.

11. 11
    Blacio S, Gadvay K, Rivas K, Guaman A, Parrales J, Calva J. Impact of Soil Nutrients on Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activities of Dysphania ambrosioides Essential Oil in Southern Ecuador.Plants (Basel) · 2026 · 15(3):373doi:10.3390/plants15030373 · PMID 41681538

    Three Ecuadorian populations gave alpha-terpinene 56 to 65 percent and ascaridole 3.30, 10.84 and 7.60 percent, with oil yields of 0.030 to 0.064 percent, varying with soil pH, nitrogen and metals. Plant chemistry; nothing on humans.

12. 12
    Elhaddadi H, Hamami A, Elouali A, Babakhouya A, Rkain M. A Fatal Case Report of Chenopodium ambrosioides L. (M'khinza) Intoxication.Cureus · 2024 · 16(5):e60351doi:10.7759/cureus.60351 · PMID 38883026

    Read in full. A 4-year-old given four cups of infusion and a whole-body poultice for fever: diarrhea, vomiting and drowsiness within four hours; aspartate transaminase 476, alanine transaminase 188 units per liter, urea 1.29 g/L, creatinine 16.20 mg/L, sodium 124 mEq/L; cardiac arrest and death. Cites Moroccan Poison Control Center data: plants cause 3 to 5 percent of poisonings, and D. ambrosioides ranked fourth (6 percent) among plant deaths 2009 to 2020. The leaf-oil composition it quotes (p-cymene 50.0, alpha-terpinene 37.6, ascaridole 3.5 percent) is given without its origin; no toxicological tests were done, and the authors state that death came in less than six hours, so the toxin in these infusions is not established.

13. 13
    Ez-Zriouli R, ElYacoubi H, Imtara H, et al. Chemical Composition, Antioxidant and Antibacterial Activities and Acute Toxicity of Cedrus atlantica, Chenopodium ambrosioides and Eucalyptus camaldulensis Essential Oils.Molecules · 2023 · 28(7):2974doi:10.3390/molecules28072974 · PMID 37049738

    Moroccan C. ambrosioides oil was alpha-terpinene 53.4 percent, ascaridole 17.7 percent, p-cymene 12.1 percent; the oral median lethal dose of the oils in rats was 500 mg/kg. Animal data; the oil, not the tea.

14. 14
    Pavela R, Maggi F, Lupidi G, et al. Clausena anisata and Dysphania ambrosioides essential oils: from ethno-medicine to modern uses as effective insecticides.Environ Sci Pollut Res Int · 2017 · 25(11):10493-10503doi:10.1007/s11356-017-0267-9 · PMID 28965298

    A Cameroonian D. ambrosioides oil was ascaridole 61.4 percent and p-cymene 29.0 percent, toxic to houseflies and inhibitory to acetylcholinesterase (50 percent inhibitory concentration 77 micrograms per mL). Insect and enzyme data; a high-ascaridole African chemotype.

15. 15
    Jardim CM, Jham GN, Dhingra OD, Freire MM. Composition and antifungal activity of the essential oil of the Brazilian Chenopodium ambrosioides L.J Chem Ecol · 2008 · 34(9):1213-8doi:10.1007/s10886-008-9526-z · PMID 18679750

    Brazilian oil was (Z)-ascaridole 61.4 percent and (E)-ascaridole 18.6 percent and stopped eight storage fungi at 0.3 percent; the ascaridoles were the antifungal fraction. Plant pathology.

16. 16
    Ignacchiti MDC, de Queiroz VT, Martins IVF, et al. Chemical composition and effect of Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) mosyakin & clemants essential oil on Biomphalaria tenagophila (D'Orbigny, 1835).Nat Prod Res · 2022 · 36(10):2595-2598doi:10.1080/14786419.2021.1910261 · PMID 33866878

    A Brazilian leaf oil of 87 percent (Z)-ascaridole killed all snails at 10 ppm in 24 hours (median lethal concentration 2.40 ppm). Shows how high the ascaridole fraction can run in a single oil; the paper does not describe the plant as a selected line.

17. 17
    Nacheva A, Bojilov D, Manolov S, et al. Chemical Composition and Biological Activity of Essential Oil from Dysphania ambrosioides from Bulgaria.Molecules · 2026 · 31(6):946doi:10.3390/molecules31060946 · PMID 41900046

    A Bulgarian oil of 53 constituents was a thymol-carvacrol chemotype (thymol 19.45 percent, carvacrol 14.30 percent), which the authors contrast with the ascaridole-rich chemotypes usual in the literature; antimicrobial and antioxidant assays in vitro only.

18. 18
    Darling ST. Recent Researches on Hookworm Infection in Indonesia.Ind Med Gaz · 1919 · 54(12):446-453PMID 29006654

    Read in full. Report, written by Samuel Darling with credit to colleagues M. A. Barber and H. P. Hacker, of the 1915 to 1916 work of the Malaya Board under the Colonial Office and the Rockefeller Foundation. Gives worm-removal percentages in adult male prisoners by drug and dose: oil of chenopodium 1 cc three times at hourly intervals (3 cc) removed 98.9 percent of worms in 17 cases; 2 cc as one dose 95.8 percent in 25; 0.25 cc three times 80 percent in 10; thymol 30 grains twice 88.6 percent; beta-naphthol 26.7 percent; two half-dose chenopodium courses 99.03 percent in 39 cases against 79 to 84 percent for thymol; Necator removed 96.8 percent against Ancylostoma 76.6 percent; six necropsies after 1 cc three times showed 99.4 percent removal; thymol at 30 grains three times removed 97.8 percent in 19, at 40 grains three times 54.2 percent in 19 and at 60 grains three times 96.5 percent in 9; the text gives 96.9 percent for the 3 cc course where the table gives 98.9; the Chinese carried a larger share of Ancylostoma than the Tamils and Malays, and only 2 to 4 percent of Brazilian hookworms were Ancylostoma. Small groups, no randomization, worm counts as the endpoint. No DOI.

19. 19
    Maplestone PA, Mukerji AK. Carbon Tetrachlorethylene in the Treatment of Hookworm Infection.Ind Med Gaz · 1933 · 68(11):617-620PMID 29009421

    Read in full. Credits Hall and Shillinger (1925) with proposing tetrachloroethylene; the authors' earlier capsule trial gave only 20.7 percent cures; this series of 50 hospital cases given 4 cc tetrachloroethylene with 1 cc oil of chenopodium in magnesium sulfate cured 31 (62 percent) with one treatment and six more with two; cites Lambert's more than 46,000 treatments without a death and Kendrick's one collapse in about 1,500. No DOI.

20. 20
    Manson D. A Comparative Record of Anthelmintic Treatment with Tetrachlorethylene and Oil of Chenopodium.Ind Med Gaz · 1934 · 69(9):500-507PMID 29009146

    Read in full. Assam tea-estate trial of 300 laborers in four groups (tetrachloroethylene 4 cc; 3 cc; 3 cc plus 1 cc oil of chenopodium; oil of chenopodium 3 cc) with egg counts before and ten days after; roundworm clearance 60.00 percent with tetrachloroethylene 4 cc and 59.65 percent with the mixture; cures 60 to 68 percent with the best regimens; chenopodium 3 cc 'very significantly better' than tetrachloroethylene 3 cc for roundworm; one transient jaundice; laborers preferred the intoxicating drug. Not randomized. No DOI.

21. 21
    Hare KP, Dutta SC. The Comparative Value of Oil of Chenopodium and Tetrachlorethylene as Anthelmintics for Use in Mass Treatment.Ind Med Gaz · 1939 · 74(4):198-201PMID 29011752

    Read in full. 188 consecutive anemic tea-estate laborers in Assam treated in alternate batches: 17 got 20 minims oil of chenopodium (1 partial cure, 16 not cured), 84 got 30 minims (the table's figures are illegible in the scan), 87 got 4 cc tetrachloroethylene (42 absolute cures, 48.3 percent; 23 partial; 9 improved; 13 not cured) by Clayton-Lane flotation at day 14; the authors call their chenopodium results 'frankly, disappointing' and raise the possibility of 'chenopodium-resistance'. Sets five requirements for a mass-treatment anthelmintic (non-toxic, reasonably palatable, easily dispensed, effective in one dose, inexpensive); calls the oil 'probably, at present, the most largely used anthelmintic' but 'costly and very unpleasant to take'; a dose cost two-thirds of an anna against one-third for tetrachloroethylene; concludes tetrachloroethylene more nearly meets the five requirements. No DOI.

22. 22
    Montoya-Cabrera MA, Escalante-Galindo P, Meckes-Fisher M, Sanchez-Vaca G, Flores-Alvarez E, Reynoso-Garcia M. [Fatal poisoning caused by oil of epazote, Chenopodium graveolens].Gac Med Mex · 1996 · 132(4):433-7PMID 8964384

    A girl of 2 years 9 months given 40 mL of oil on a healer's advice: vomiting, coma, seizures, apnea, metabolic acidosis, death; autopsy brain edema and neuronal necrosis, pericholangitis, pancreatitis, tubular necrosis. The oil assayed 39 mg/mL ascaridole (1,560 mg given); the authors give 60 mg as the former therapeutic dose for her age and 1,000 mg as the reported lethal dose. The plant was identified as Chenopodium graveolens, a related species. Single case.

23. 23
    Guyton WL. Poisoning due to oil of chenopodium.J Am Med Assoc · 1946 · 132:330doi:10.1001/jama.1946.02870410018006a · PMID 20997219

    A 1946 American poisoning report; title only, cited for date and venue.

24. 24
    Guevara R. Toxicity of oil of chenopodium when administered together with castor oil.J Philipp Med Assoc · 1947 · 23(6):259-67PMID 20265137

    Philippine paper on the toxicity of oil of chenopodium given together with castor oil; title only; no DOI.

25. 25
    Jelliffe DB. Oil of Chenopodium in the treatment of ascariasis; (report of three cases of fatal liver damage in African patients).J Trop Med Hyg · 1951 · 54(7):143-6PMID 24541284

    Three deaths from liver damage in African patients treated for roundworm with the oil; title only, no abstract or DOI held by PubMed.

26. 26
    Sansone G, Cotellessa G. [Severe case of acute toxic hepatitis with hyperazotemia and renal block (Chenopodium oil poisoning) treated successfully by exchange transfusion].Minerva Pediatr · 1951 · 3(14):717PMID 14940869

    Italian pediatric case of liver and kidney failure after the oil, treated by exchange transfusion; title only.

27. 27
    Sadeh J. [Toxic encephalitis with positive electroencephalogram due to oil of chenopodium].Harefuah · 1955 · 48(2):29-30PMID 14353377

    Israeli report of brain inflammation with an abnormal electroencephalogram after the oil; title only.

28. 28
    Derobert L, Gruner R, Fournier E, Vacher J. [A case of poisoning by Chenopodium oil, anatomo-pathological study].Ann Med Leg Criminol Police Sci Toxicol · 1955 · 35(3):107-9PMID 13249145

    French forensic autopsy report of a child's death from the oil; title only (indexed to infant and child).

29. 29
    Krejci F, Bejdl W. [Analytical studies with radio-phosphorus on the hearing disorder associated with chenopodium poisoning].Arch Ohren Nasen Kehlkopfheilkd · 1954 · 164(6):539-42PMID 13189448

    German study of the hearing damage of chenopodium poisoning using a radioactive tracer in the inner ear; title only.

30. 30
    Kociolek G, Sulkowski W, Starzynski Z, Zolnowski Z. [Toxic damage to hearing during poisoning with chenopodium oil].Otolaryngol Pol · 1968 · 22(5):737-9PMID 5751714

    Polish case report of hearing damage in a middle-aged man poisoned with the oil in 1968; title only.

31. 31
    Pototschnig H. [Course and treatment of oleum chenopodium poisoning].Ther Ggw · 1952 · 91(2):65-6PMID 14922351

    German-language note on the course and treatment of oil of chenopodium poisoning; title only; no DOI.

32. 32
    Bossaller O. [Oleum-chenopodii poisoning].Munch Med Wochenschr · 1955 · 97(3):70-1PMID 14356097

    German report titled 'Oleum-chenopodii poisoning'; title only; no DOI.

33. 33
    Maplestone PA, Mukerji AK. Hexylresorcinol as an Anthelmintic.Ind Med Gaz · 1932 · 67(11):610-612PMID 29011050

    Read in full. Summarizes Lamson and colleagues' 1930 to 1932 American papers introducing hexylresorcinol at 1 gram (263 ascariasis cases, 75 percent cured, 90 percent egg reduction) and reports the Calcutta series: 21 ascariasis cases, 66.6 percent cured; 26 hookworm cases, 7.7 percent cured; the drug cost about one shilling a dose and was judged not yet proven. No DOI.

34. 34
    White RH, Standen OD. Piperazine in the treatment of threadworms in children; report on a clinical trial.Br Med J · 1953 · 2(4839):755-7doi:10.1136/bmj.2.4839.755 · PMID 13082101

    Report of a clinical trial of piperazine against threadworms (pinworm) in children; no abstract in PubMed. Cited for date; no figures taken.

35. 35
    Goodwin LG, Standen OD. Treatment of roundworm with piperazine citrate: antepar.Br Med J · 1954 · 2(4900):1332-3doi:10.1136/bmj.2.4900.1332 · PMID 13209113

    An early British report of piperazine citrate for Ascaris; cited for the date at which piperazine entered roundworm treatment. The scan is not held as text, so no figures are taken from it.

36. 36
    Goodwin LG, Jayewardene LG, Standen OD. Clinical trials with bephenium hydroxynaphthoate against hookworm in Ceylon.Br Med J · 1958 · 2(5112):1572-6doi:10.1136/bmj.2.5112.1572 · PMID 13608052

    Clinical trials of bephenium hydroxynaphthoate against hookworm in Ceylon (Sri Lanka); no abstract in PubMed. Cited for date and drug; no figures taken.

37. 37
    de Vilela MP, Rodrigues LD, Capell JI, Brandao JA, Martirani I, Zucato M. [Use of thiabendazole in the treatment of strongyloidiasis and other human parasitoses].Hospital (Rio J) · 1962 · 62:691-710PMID 13997238

    Portuguese-language report on thiabendazole in strongyloidiasis and other human parasitoses (hookworm, roundworm and whipworm are index terms), Brazil 1962; title and index terms only; no DOI.

38. 38
    Howes HL, Lynch JE. Anthelmintic studies with pyrantel. I. Therapeutic and prophylactic efficacy against the enteral stages of various helminths in mice and dogs.J Parasitol · 1967 · 53(5):1085-91PMID 6062062

    The first published animal efficacy paper on pyrantel; title only. Cited for the date of the drug's appearance.

39. 39
    Desowitz RS, Bell T, Williams J, Cardines R, Tamarua M. Anthelmintic activity of pyrantel pamoate.Am J Trop Med Hyg · 1970 · 19(5):775-8doi:10.4269/ajtmh.1970.19.775 · PMID 5453905

    A 1970 human study of pyrantel pamoate in children with Ascaris, hookworm, pinworm, whipworm and Strongyloides (from the indexing); no abstract, cited for date.

40. 40
    Brugmans JP, Thienpont DC, van Wijngaarden I, Vanparijs OF, Schuermans VL, Lauwers HL. Mebendazole in enterobiasis. Radiochemical and pilot clinical study in 1,278 subjects.JAMA · 1971 · 217(3):313-6PMID 5109194

    JAMA radiochemical and pilot clinical study of mebendazole in 1,278 people with pinworm (enterobiasis); no abstract in PubMed, indexed as a controlled clinical trial with placebo. Title and index terms only; no DOI.

41. 41
    Banerjee D, Mandal A, Prakash O. Mebendazole (R-17,635): a new anthelmintic in the development of hookworms.Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg · 1971 · 65(5):685-6doi:10.1016/0035-9203(71)90061-7 · PMID 5159149

    Among the earliest reports of mebendazole (then compound R-17,635) against hookworm eggs and larvae; title only, cited for date.

42. 42
    Pene P, Vincentelli JM, Soula G, Delmont J, Rossignol JF. [Treatment of intestinal nematode infections with albendazole. Preliminary results].Bull Soc Pathol Exot Filiales · 1981 · 74(6):590-4PMID 7044582

    Randomized double-blind study in 186 African subjects in Mali and Senegal: a single 400 mg dose (200 mg in children) was well tolerated and cured more than 90 percent of ascariasis, less for hookworm and whipworm in children. One of the first human albendazole trials.

43. 43
    Keiser J, Utzinger J. Efficacy of current drugs against soil-transmitted helminth infections: systematic review and meta-analysis.JAMA · 2008 · 299(16):1937-48doi:10.1001/jama.299.16.1937 · PMID 18430913

    Twenty randomized trials: single-dose cure rates for Ascaris 88 percent with albendazole (557 patients), 95 percent with mebendazole (309) and 88 percent with pyrantel pamoate (131); for hookworm 72, 15 and 31 percent; for whipworm 28 and 36 percent. The modern yardstick against which the oil's figures can be read.

44. 44
    Moser W, Schindler C, Keiser J. Efficacy of recommended drugs against soil transmitted helminths: systematic review and network meta-analysis.BMJ · 2017 · 358:j4307doi:10.1136/bmj.j4307 · PMID 28947636

    55 trials: albendazole's hookworm cure rate 79.5 percent (95 percent confidence interval 71.5 to 85.6); all drugs weak against whipworm, best mebendazole 42.1 percent; albendazole's whipworm cure rate fell from 38.6 percent (1995) to 16.4 percent (2015). Shows efficacy drifting downward, a reason the old chemistry is being re-examined.

45. 45
    Schnoz A, Sprecher VP, Biendl S, et al. Efficacy and safety of moxidectin-albendazole combination therapy for Trichuris trichiura infections in school-aged children: a double-blind, randomised, controlled, superiority trial.Lancet Infect Dis · 2025 · 25(12):1325-1335doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(25)00344-5 · PMID 40675166

    Phase 3 double-blind randomized trial on Pemba Island, Tanzania (2024), in 224 children aged 6 to 11 with whipworm: moxidectin plus albendazole cured 69 percent (77 of 111) against 16 percent (11 of 68) with albendazole alone and 12 percent with placebo; adverse events mild and similar to placebo. Funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation.

46. 46
    Kliks MM. Studies on the traditional herbal anthelmintic Chenopodium ambrosioides L.: ethnopharmacological evaluation and clinical field trials.Soc Sci Med · 1985 · 21(8):879-86doi:10.1016/0277-9536(85)90144-3 · PMID 3906906

    The first controlled human field study of the plant itself (powdered dried plant, not the folk decoction): among Mayan farmers in Chiapas, decoctions of up to 300 mg dry plant per kg were in wide use against ascariasis, but therapeutic doses of up to 6,000 mg/kg of powdered dried plant had no significant effect on adult Necator, Trichuris or Ascaris, although gas chromatography found ascaridole in the expected amounts. The author proposes that passage of senescent worms sustains the belief. The abstract is truncated in PubMed; sample sizes are not given there. The abstract also states, without reference, that commercial oil of chenopodium and ascaridole 'have been and continue to be, used with considerable success in mass treatment campaigns'. Later small Peruvian studies of paico (1996, 2001) reported clearance of Ascaris eggs.

47. 47
    López De Guimaraes D, Neyra Llanos RS, Romero Acevedo JH. [Ascariasis: comparison of the therapeutic efficacy between paico and albendazole in children from Huaraz].Rev Gastroenterol Peru · 2001 · 21(3):212-9PMID 11818981

    Randomized trial (May to August 2000) in 60 children aged 3 to 14 with Ascaris in a rural community near Huaraz, Peru: paico juice 1 mL/kg (under 10 kg) or 2 mL/kg before breakfast for three days against single-dose albendazole 400 mg (200 mg under age five). At 15 days Ascaris eggs disappeared in 86.7 percent of each group and egg burden fell 59.5 and 58.3 percent; paico was reported fully effective against Hymenolepis nana; adverse effects 23.3 percent in both arms. Small, single site, randomization method not described in the abstract, ascaridole content not measured. Spanish; abstract only. No DOI.

48. 48
    Monzote L, Pastor J, Scull R, Gille L. Antileishmanial activity of essential oil from Chenopodium ambrosioides and its main components against experimental cutaneous leishmaniasis in BALB/c mice.Phytomedicine · 2014 · 21(8-9):1048-52doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2014.03.002 · PMID 24768411

    The reversal inside the modern program: intralesional whole oil at 30 mg/kg prevented lesions and beat glucantime, but pure ascaridole, carvacrol and caryophyllene oxide given alone had no effect, and an artificial mixture of the three killed the mice within three days. Mouse study.

49. 49
    Monzote L, Stamberg W, Staniek K, Gille L. Toxic effects of carvacrol, caryophyllene oxide, and ascaridole from essential oil of Chenopodium ambrosioides on mitochondria.Toxicol Appl Pharmacol · 2009 · 240(3):337-47doi:10.1016/j.taap.2009.08.001 · PMID 19666043

    Rat liver mitochondria and mouse macrophages: all three constituents inhibited the electron transport chain; ascaridole was the least toxic without iron but ferrous iron, and reduced hemin, cleaved it to carbon-centered radicals and started lipid peroxidation. Notes that fatalities led to the oil's commercial disuse. In vitro.

50. 50
    Geroldinger G, Tonner M, Hettegger H, et al. Mechanism of ascaridole activation in Leishmania.Biochem Pharmacol · 2017 · 132:48-62doi:10.1016/j.bcp.2017.02.023 · PMID 28263719

    Electron spin resonance showed ascaridole is reduced by ferrous iron or hemin to secondary alkyl radicals, inside promastigotes of Leishmania tarentolae, a lizard parasite used as a model, as well as in cell-free systems; the iron chelator deferoxamine blocked it; 1,4-cineole, an analogue with a single ether oxygen in place of the peroxide bridge, made no radicals and was far less toxic. In vitro mechanism.

51. 51
    Chandler AC, Mukerji AK. Combined Carbon Tetrachloride and Oil of Chenopodium in the Treatment of Hookworm Disease: A Report on the Treatment of 70 Cases.Ind Med Gaz · 1925 · 60(4):145-147PMID 29010345

    Read in full. Seventy lightly infected Calcutta patients given 60 minims carbon tetrachloride with 15 minims oil of chenopodium; cure judged by six negative stools. Its literature review is the page's source for Smillie and Pessoa's 1922 Brazilian work (a 3:1 carbon tetrachloride-ascaridole mixture), Lambert's fatalities in Fiji after carbon tetrachloride in heavy Ascaris carriers and his 10:1 mixture, Bercovitz's adoption of that method in Hainan, China (1924), and Soper's Paraguay series (40 heavy cases: 10 percent worm-count cures, 35 percent microscopic cures, 96.5 percent of worms removed). Those earlier papers are quoted secondhand. No DOI.

52. 52
    O'Brien HR. Successful Hookworm Control with Chenopodium-Carbon Tetrachloride.Am J Public Health (N Y) · 1925 · 15(8):696-9doi:10.2105/ajph.15.8.696 · PMID 18011593

    From the International Health Board (the Rockefeller Foundation's overseas arm) in Bangkok, Siam: a field report that the combined oil was used in a hookworm control campaign. Only the title and affiliation are machine-readable; no figures are taken from it.

53. 53
    Badinga LPCL, Mekaoui N, Karboubi L, Dakhama BSB. [M'khinza-related intoxication: about two observations].Pan Afr Med J · 2018 · 31:18doi:10.11604/pamj.2018.31.18.15987 · PMID 30918546

    Rabat pediatric emergency department: a 5-month-old with toxic encephalopathy and a 10-year-old with severe dehydration and gastroenteritis, both after undetermined doses of infusion given for fever; both died within 12 hours. Two cases.

54. 54
    Ramalingam S, Sinniah B, Krishnan U. Albendazole, an effective single dose, broad spectrum anthelmintic drug.Am J Trop Med Hyg · 1983 · 32(5):984-9doi:10.4269/ajtmh.1983.32.984 · PMID 6625078

    91 Malaysian patients given single doses of 400, 600 or 800 mg: Ascaris cure 100 percent at all doses; hookworm 98.8, 100 and 98 percent at day 14, falling to 68.8, 100 and 84 percent at day 21; whipworm 31.2 to 57.1 percent; no side effects. Uncontrolled dose comparison.

55. 55
    Abadia ACM, Gnoatto SCB. Chemistry and biological properties of Ascaridole: A systematic review.Fitoterapia · 2025 · 188:106982doi:10.1016/j.fitote.2025.106982 · PMID 41213362

    The most recent systematic review of ascaridole: an endoperoxide monoterpene with a peroxide bridge, with antileishmanial, antimalarial, antitrypanosomal, anticancer, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity in experimental models, acting through reactive oxygen species by artemisinin-like activation; it stresses the scarcity of studies of the pure compound and the absence of clinical data.

56. 56
    Alvarez-Chimal R, Garcia-Perez VI, Alvarez-Perez MA, Arenas-Alatorre JA. Green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles using a Dysphania ambrosioides extract. Structural characterization and antibacterial properties.Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl · 2020 · 118:111540doi:10.1016/j.msec.2020.111540 · PMID 33255092

    A materials paper, cited only for its statement that the plant was used by the native populations of Mexico as a dewormer and 'is currently used widely in traditional Mexican cuisine'.

57. 57
    Aboukhalaf A, Lahlou Y, El Yacoubi H, Rochdi A, Kalili A, El Biyad J, Belahsen R. Nutritional, Bioactive, Antioxidant, and Safety Assessment of Some Wild Edible Medicinal Plants Commonly Consumed in Morocco.Int J Food Sci · 2026 · 2026:5125567doi:10.1155/ijfo/5125567 · PMID 42039228

    Read in full. Leaves of D. ambrosioides ('Mkhinza') collected in Sidi Bennour, Morocco, where they are eaten as a vegetable and flavoring: 20.43 percent protein, 14.85 percent ash, 0.97 percent fat and 4.31 mg iron per 100 g dry weight, with a phytate-to-iron molar ratio the authors calculate as 59.4, meaning poor iron availability; a methanol extract caused no deaths or signs of toxicity in rats at single oral doses of 2,000 and 5,000 mg/kg over 14 days, without blood chemistry or histology. Food-composition and animal data.

58. 58
    Pardo de Santayana M, Blanco E, Morales R. Plants known as te in Spain: an ethno-pharmaco-botanical review.J Ethnopharmacol · 2005 · 98(1-2):1-19doi:10.1016/j.jep.2004.11.003 · PMID 15763359

    Among at least 70 Spanish plants drunk as 'te' after meals as digestives, Chenopodium ambrosioides is one of the most important and widely distributed. Ethnobotany.

59. 59
    Kandsi F, Lafdil FZ, El Hachlafi N, et al. Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin and Clemants: bridging traditional knowledge, photochemistry, preclinical investigations, and toxicological validation for health benefits.Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol · 2024 · 397(2):969-1001doi:10.1007/s00210-023-02658-4 · PMID 37552317

    Review centered on Moroccan use ('M'Khinza') for diabetes, digestive disorders, fever and respiratory complaints; lists more than 96 bioactive compounds and concludes toxicity is dose-dependent and that mechanisms must be established before any clinical trial.

60. 60
    Musa A, Medo I, Maric I, Marcic D. Acaricidal and sublethal effects of a Chenopodium-based biopesticide on the two-spotted spider mite (Acari: Tetranychidae).Exp Appl Acarol · 2017 · 71(3):211-226doi:10.1007/s10493-017-0118-x · PMID 28405838

    Tests of Requiem EC, a commercial biopesticide made from an essential-oil extract of Chenopodium ambrosioides near ambrosioides, against spider mites; shows the plant has a present-day commercial use as a pesticide. Arthropod data.

61. 61
    Barkatullah, Khan MS, Saddiq G, et al. Application of Standardized Phytochemical Tests for Metabolite Profiling in Chenopodium ambrosioides L. and Microscopy Characterization.Chem Biodivers · 2025 · 23(2):e01430doi:10.1002/cbdv.202501430 · PMID 41289052

    Pharmacognostic standards for authenticating the dried herb: serrated leaves with a resinous surface, diacytic stomata, palisade ratio 5.6, vein-islet number 14.8, stomatal indices 16.44 and 18.67; no alkaloids or proteins detected by the classical tests. Quality-control botany.

62. 62
    Assef ANB, de Oliveira DFG, Viana KF, et al. Cytotoxic Effects of Dysphania ambrosioides Extracts on Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.Curr Pharm Des · 2026 · 32(3):190-195doi:10.2174/0113816128384050250424053432 · PMID 40325820

    Four extracts killed both oral cancer (SCC4) and normal keratinocyte (HaCaT) cells, the normal cells being the more sensitive: 'a broad-spectrum cytotoxic activity without tumor-specific therapeutic targeting'. Cell culture; a negative for selectivity.

63. 63
    Pereira LPLA, Ribeiro ECG, Brito MCA, et al. Molluscicidal and cercaricidal activities of the essential oil of Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin & Clemants: Implications for the control of schistosomiasis.Acta Trop · 2022 · 230:106393doi:10.1016/j.actatropica.2022.106393 · PMID 35278368

    Brazilian oil (alpha-terpinene 50.69 percent, ascaridole 10.26 percent) killed Biomphalaria glabrata snails at a median lethal concentration of 25.2 micrograms per mL and Schistosoma mansoni cercariae at 62.4, but also zebrafish at 18.6. Laboratory ecotoxicology.

64. 64
    Efferth T, Olbrich A, Sauerbrey A, Ross DD, Gebhart E, Neugebauer M. Activity of ascaridol from the anthelmintic herb Chenopodium anthelminticum L. against sensitive and multidrug-resistant tumor cells.Anticancer Res · 2002 · 22(6C):4221-4PMID 12553060

    Ascaridole isolated from a commercial oil was active against leukemia and breast cancer cell lines (CCRF-CEM, HL60, MDA-MB-231) including multidrug-resistant sublines; the authors call it 'the first hint'. Cell culture only.

65. 65
    Fernández EN, Sequin CJ, Gonzalez A, Herrera JM. Ethanolic Botanical Extracts: A Bioinsecticide Approach to Controlling Epicauta atomaria (Coleoptera: Meloidae).Neotrop Entomol · 2025 · 54(1):57doi:10.1007/s13744-025-01271-9 · PMID 40234332

    Ethanolic extracts of six Argentine plants against the blister beetle Epicauta atomaria: D. ambrosioides was the most active (78 percent mortality at 10 µg/µL; beetle acetylcholinesterase inhibited 58 percent at 5.0 µg/µL), and its active fractions were rich in thymol and carvacrol. Insect laboratory data; a thymol-carvacrol profile outside Bulgaria.

66. 66
    Sarkar D, De Sarkar S, Gille L, Chatterjee M. Ascaridole exerts the leishmanicidal activity by inhibiting parasite glycolysis.Phytomedicine · 2022 · 103:154221doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2022.154221 · PMID 35696799

    Against Leishmania donovani, the cause of visceral disease, ascaridole's 50 percent inhibitory concentration was 2.47 micromolar for promastigotes and 2.00 for amastigotes, with 50 percent cytotoxic concentrations of 41.47 and 37.58 micromolar in mouse macrophages; it raised reactive oxygen species, depleted thiols, blocked glycolysis and collapsed membrane potential. In vitro.

67. 67
    Goodwin LG. A method for recording the effects of anthelmintics on the movements of Ascaris lumbricoides.Br J Pharmacol Chemother · 1958 · 13(2):197-201doi:10.1111/j.1476-5381.1958.tb00217.x · PMID 13536286

    Pig Ascaris suspended in nylon stockings: piperazine caused gradual narcosis; tetrachloroethylene, hexylresorcinol and oil of chenopodium all stimulated movement before immobilizing the worm; the author concludes piperazine 'is the safest preparation available for the treatment of ascariasis'. In vitro pharmacology.

68. 68
    Aubry ML, Cowell P, Davey MJ, Shevde S. Aspects of the pharmacology of a new anthelmintic: pyrantel.Br J Pharmacol · 1970 · 38(2):332-44doi:10.1111/j.1476-5381.1970.tb08521.x · PMID 5417856

    Shows pyrantel is a depolarizing neuromuscular blocker that contracts Ascaris muscle, more than 100 times as active as acetylcholine, while piperazine relaxes it: the mechanistic contrast with the older irritant oils. Animal and tissue pharmacology.

69. 69
    Wang XY, Hao JM, Ren QR, et al. Cytotoxicity and Apoptosis Induced by Chenopodium ambrosioides L. Essential Oil in Human Normal Liver Cell Line L02 via the Endogenous Mitochondrial Pathway Rather Than the Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress.Int J Environ Res Public Health · 2021 · 18(14):7469doi:10.3390/ijerph18147469 · PMID 34299918

    The oil killed normal human liver cells (L02) with 50 percent inhibitory concentrations of 65.45, 58.03 and 35.47 micrograms per mL at 24, 48 and 72 hours, by the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. In vitro; a caution against reading tumor-cell kill as selectivity.

70. 70
    Olowofolahan AO, Gaaba M, Musa FB. Chenopodium ambrosioides Linn. induces mitochondrial-dependent cell death via activation of mPT pore opening, caspases and apoptotic machinery.J Complement Integr Med · 2026 · (online)doi:10.1515/jcim-2025-0312 · PMID 41973944

    Rats given 50 to 200 mg/kg of a chloroform fraction showed dose-dependent opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore, caspase activation, liver DNA fragmentation and mild to moderate fatty change with inflammatory cells. Framed as anticancer, it reads equally as liver toxicity. Animal study.

71. 71
    Dougnon G, Ito M. Role of Ascaridole and p-Cymene in the Sleep-Promoting Effects of Dysphania ambrosioides Essential Oil via the GABAergic System in a ddY Mouse Inhalation Model.J Nat Prod · 2021 · 84(1):91-100doi:10.1021/acs.jnatprod.0c01137 · PMID 33325703

    Inhaled oil (ascaridole 35.5 percent, p-cymene 47.2 percent) and its two main components reduced caffeine-excited locomotion by more than 50 percent and prolonged pentobarbital sleep by 42 percent (ascaridole) and 77 percent (p-cymene); flumazenil blocked the effect, pointing to the GABA-benzodiazepine receptor. Mouse study; a clue to the drowsiness of poisoning.

72. 72
    Mukerji AK, Sen Gupta KK. Effect of Heat and Light on the Ascaridol Content in Oil of Chenopodium.Ind Med Gaz · 1945 · 80(7):347PMID 21065555

    Read in full. Seven storage conditions over twelve months: a sample in direct sunlight fell from 68.6 to 56.0 percent ascaridole; samples kept cool and shaded fell least, from 64.7 and 64.8 to 61.4 and 61.6 percent; a dark incubator at 37 degrees Celsius did not prevent loss. No DOI.

73. 73
    Pollack Y, Segal R, Golenser J. The effect of ascaridole on the in vitro development of Plasmodium falciparum.Parasitol Res · 1990 · 76(7):570-2doi:10.1007/BF00932563 · PMID 2217117

    Ascaridole arrested cultured malaria parasites at 0.05 micromolar and cleared them at 0.1 micromolar after three days, acting mainly on the trophozoite stage; cineole, with an epoxide instead of the peroxide, was inactive. Culture only; no animal or human malaria data.

74. 74
    Szmant HH, Halpern A. Ascaridole in oil of chenopodium; the characterization of ascaridole.J Am Chem Soc · 1949 · 71(3):1133doi:10.1021/ja01171a527 · PMID 18224871

    A one-page chemical characterization of ascaridole from the oil, cited for the state of the chemistry at mid-century. PubMed holds no abstract.

75. 75
    Schenck GO, Schulze-Buschoff H. [Synthetic ascaridol, a new way of treating roundworms].Dtsch Med Wochenschr · 1948 · 73(29-32):341-4doi:10.1055/s-0028-1118146 · PMID 18883095

    German title only, no abstract: 'synthetic ascaridol' presented as a new treatment for roundworm in 1948. Cited for date and claim; the content was not read.

76. 76
    Dorn W. [Treatment of ascaridiasis with the synthetic ascaridol preparation ascarisin].Medizinische · 1954 · 47:1581PMID 13235124

    German title only, indexed to ascariasis, peroxides and monoterpenes: treatment of roundworm with a synthetic ascaridol preparation, Ascarisin. Cited for date; content not read. No DOI.

77. 77
    Halpern A. Ascaridole in chenopodium oil. IV. The synthesis of ascaridole.J Am Pharm Assoc · 1951 · 40(2):68-71doi:10.1002/jps.3030400203 · PMID 14813966

    Reports a synthesis of ascaridole, cited for the fact that the active constituent could be made in the laboratory by 1951. No abstract is held by PubMed.

78. 78
    Chaudhuri A, de Groot WFC, Schuurmans JHA, et al. Scaling Up Gas-Liquid Photo-Oxidations in Flow Using Rotor-Stator Spinning Disc Reactors and a High-Intensity Light Source.Org Process Res Dev · 2025 · 29(2):460-471doi:10.1021/acs.oprd.4c00458 · PMID 40012916

    Engineering study scaling up the light-driven (singlet-oxygen) oxidation of alpha-terpinene to ascaridole in a spinning-disc flow reactor: 16.3 kg per day at 92 percent conversion. Chemistry, not medicine; co-authors include employees of Janssen Research and Development and Signify Research, commercial affiliations noted.

79. 79
    Agosto D. [Chenopodium oil poisoning in children].Acta Paediatr Lat · 1951 · 4(2):129-44PMID 14829264

    A sixteen-page 1951 review of childhood poisoning by the oil; title only, no abstract held.

80. 80
    Beckett AH, Dombrow M. The determination of ascaridole in oil of chenopodium and in solution of oil of chenopodium in castor oil.J Pharm Pharmacol · 1952 · 4(10):738-47doi:10.1111/j.2042-7158.1952.tb13208.x · PMID 13000652

    An analytical paper on assaying the peroxide; cited here only for the fact that a standard assay for ascaridole in the pharmacopeial oil, and in the castor-oil solution used clinically, existed and was still being refined in 1952. No abstract is held by PubMed.

81. 81
    Cavalli JF, Tomi F, Bernardini AF, Casanova J. Combined analysis of the essential oil of Chenopodium ambrosioides by GC, GC-MS and 13C-NMR spectroscopy: quantitative determination of ascaridole, a heat-sensitive compound.Phytochem Anal · 2004 · 15(5):275-9doi:10.1002/pca.761 · PMID 15508830

    A commercial Madagascar oil read 41.8 percent ascaridole by gas chromatography but 55.3 percent when corrected by carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance, because the heat of the chromatograph isomerizes ascaridole to isoascaridole. Shows that the standard assay under-reads the active constituent.

82. 82
    MacDonald D, VanCrey K, Harrison P, Rangachari PK, Rosenfeld J, Warren C, Sorger G. Ascaridole-less infusions of Chenopodium ambrosioides contain a nematocide(s) that is(are) not toxic to mammalian smooth muscle.J Ethnopharmacol · 2004 · 92(2-3):215-21doi:10.1016/j.jep.2004.02.018 · PMID 15138003

    Laboratory study: almost 90 percent of the nematocidal activity of leaf infusions against the free-living worm Caenorhabditis elegans came from a water-soluble component that was not ascaridole; ascaridole at worm-killing concentrations depressed rat gut smooth-muscle contraction, the ascaridole-free residue did not. In vitro, on a non-parasitic worm; it does not show that teas cure human infection.

83. 83
    Al-Andal A, Radwan AM, Donia AM, Balah MA. Allelopathic pathways and impacts of Chenopodium species via leachates, decaying residues, and essential oils.PLoS One · 2025 · 20(4):e0321782doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0321782 · PMID 40299911

    Allelopathy study of three Chenopodium weeds collected in South Sinai, Egypt (read in part from the PubMed Central text): the shoot essential oil of C. ambrosioides had ascaridole (8.87 percent) as its dominant compound and strongly suppressed weed germination and growth. Plant-science data.

84. 84
    Campos-Navarro R, Scarpa GF. The cultural-bound disease "empacho" in Argentina. A comprehensive botanico-historical and ethnopharmacological review.J Ethnopharmacol · 2013 · 148(2):349-60doi:10.1016/j.jep.2013.05.002 · PMID 23684719

    Ninety primary sources from 1710 to 2010 and 152 plant species used for 'empacho', a folk digestive blockage; Dysphania ambrosioides is listed first among the seven most frequently mentioned, and the properties attributed to the empacho plants as a group include stomachic, purgative, antispasmodic, bitter-tonic, carminative and cholagogue-choleretic. Documents the claim, not its truth.

85. 85
    Conway GA, Slocumb JC. Plants used as abortifacients and emmenagogues by Spanish New Mexicans.J Ethnopharmacol · 1979 · 1(3):241-61doi:10.1016/s0378-8741(79)80014-8 · PMID 232204

    Lists wormseed (Chenopodium ambrosioides) among the plants most widely used in New Mexico to bring on menstruation or abortion. Ethnographic; no efficacy data.

86. 86
    Freitas Neto WA, Andrade SSCA, Silva GDMD, et al. Medicinal plants and people with tuberculosis: description of care practices in Northern Bahia, 2017.Epidemiol Serv Saude · 2020 · 29(5):e2020046doi:10.1590/S1679-49742020000500006 · PMID 33175009

    Of 80 people with tuberculosis interviewed in six Bahian municipalities, 50 used medicinal plants and Chenopodium ambrosioides was the most cited (23 citations). Descriptive survey; no efficacy claim.

87. 87
    Villalobos-Delgado LH, Gonzalez-Mondragon EG, Ramirez-Andrade J, Salazar-Govea AY, Santiago-Castro JT. Oxidative stability in raw, cooked, and frozen ground beef using Epazote (Chenopodium ambrosioides L.).Meat Sci · 2020 · 168:108187doi:10.1016/j.meatsci.2020.108187 · PMID 32442827

    Aqueous and ethanolic epazote extracts slowed fat oxidation in ground beef stored for 9 days chilled or 90 days frozen. Food science; shows the herb's modern culinary standing.

88. 88
    Ali N, Nabi M, Shoaib M, et al. GC/MS analysis, anti-leishmanial and relaxant activity of essential oil of Chenopodium ambrosioides (L.) from Malakand region.Pak J Pharm Sci · 2021 · 34(2):577-583PMID 34275832

    A Pakistani oil (4-carene 56.59 percent, o-cymene 41.46 percent, no ascaridole reported) relaxed rabbit jejunum by calcium-channel blockade (50 percent effective concentration 0.26 mg/mL against potassium-induced contraction), which the authors offer as the rationale for use in gut spasm; acute median lethal dose 279.66 mg/kg. Animal tissue; the only mechanistic support found for the carminative claim.

89. 89
    Giove Nakazawa RA. [Traditional medicine in the treatment of enteroparasitosis].Rev Gastroenterol Peru · 1996 · 16(3):197-202PMID 12165783

    Spanish-language study from the Takiwasi health center near Tarapoto, San Martín, Peru: paico (C. ambrosioides) leaf extract given to 72 children and adults with intestinal parasites in two villages; stools examined before and 8 days after; 'antiparasitary efficacy' in 56 percent overall, 100 percent for hookworm and whipworm and 50 percent for Ascaris. No control group; stool-egg endpoint; abstract only. No DOI.

90. 90
    Deciga-Campos M, Mata R, Rivero-Cruz I. Antinociceptive pharmacological profile of Dysphania graveolens in mouse.Biomed Pharmacother · 2017 · 89:933-938doi:10.1016/j.biopha.2017.02.096 · PMID 28292021

    The related Mexican species Dysphania graveolens, also called epazote, had pain-relieving activity in mice through opioid and GABA receptors with flavonoids as the actives. Cited to show that 'epazote' in Mexico can mean a second species, the one implicated in the 1996 death.

91. 91
    Molina J, Sherpa C, Ng J, Sonam T, Stuhr N. DNA Barcoding of Online Herbal Supplements: Crowd-sourcing Pharmacovigilance in High School.Open Life Sci · 2018 · 13:48-55doi:10.1515/biol-2018-0007 · PMID 33817067

    Of 20 online herbal products barcoded by students, four did not match their labels, and one of the four was sold as epazote. Small survey; shows the identity of what is sold is not assured.

92. 92
    Kasali FM, Kadima JN, Tusiimire J, Ajayi CO, Agaba AG. Effects of the Oral Administration of Aqueous and Methanolic Leaf Extracts of Chenopodium ambrosioides L. (Amaranthaceae) on Blood Glucose Levels in Wistar Rats.J Exp Pharmacol · 2022 · 14:139-148doi:10.2147/JEP.S356564 · PMID 35502164

    Leaf extracts from Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo, had an oral median lethal dose above 2,000 mg/kg in rats with no signs of toxicity over 14 days, and the aqueous extract at 200 mg/kg lowered fasting glucose by 16.72 percent. Animal study.

93. 93
    Kandsi F, Lafdil FZ, Elbouzidi A, et al. Evaluation of Acute and Subacute Toxicity and LC-MS/MS Compositional Alkaloid Determination of the Hydroethanolic Extract of Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin and Clemants Flowers.Toxins (Basel) · 2022 · 14(7):475doi:10.3390/toxins14070475 · PMID 35878213

    Oral median lethal dose of the flower extract 5,000 mg/kg in rodents; 500 mg/kg daily for 15 days raised transaminases and urea with mild liver inflammation and kidney changes; nine alkaloids found, N-formylnorgalanthamine the most abundant. Animal toxicology.

94. 94
    da Silva MGC, Amorim RNL, Camara CC, Fontenele Neto JD, Soto-Blanco B. Acute and sub-chronic toxicity of aqueous extracts of Chenopodium ambrosioides leaves in rats.J Med Food · 2014 · 17(9):979-84doi:10.1089/jmf.2013.0134 · PMID 24892475

    Rats given 0.3 to 3.0 g/kg of aqueous leaf extract showed no signs of toxicity, but the highest acute dose raised transaminases and 1.0 g/kg for 15 days raised alanine transaminase and creatinine with mild vacuolation of liver cells: 'slight hepatotoxic lesions'. Animal study.

95. 95
    Drioua S, Ameggouz M, Assouguem A, et al. Comprehensive phytochemical and toxicological analysis of Chenopodium ambrosioides (L.) fractions.Open Life Sci · 2024 · 19(1):20220895doi:10.1515/biol-2022-0895 · PMID 38947765

    Oral extracts and fractions at 200 mg/kg for 28 days in mice caused no deaths or biochemical changes, with some organ-weight changes. Animal data; a lower dose than the toxic Moroccan series above.

96. 96
    Phippen HG. The Treatment of Ankylostomiasis with Beta-Naphthol and Thymol.Br Med J · 1923 · 1(3244):371doi:10.1136/bmj.1.3244.371 · PMID 20771035

    Shows that the older drugs were still being reported in 1923; only the title is machine-readable.

97. 97
    Elman C, McGuire RA, Wittman B. Extending public health: the Rockefeller Sanitary Commission and hookworm in the American South.Am J Public Health · 2014 · 104(1):47-58doi:10.2105/AJPH.2013.301472 · PMID 24228676

    Historical analysis of the Rockefeller Sanitary Commission for the Eradication of Hookworm Disease (1909 to 1914) across 11 Southern states, where about 40 percent of those surveyed were infected; it documents the campaign's selective county coverage. It does not discuss drugs.

98. 98
    Palmer S. Migrant clinics and hookworm science: peripheral origins of International Health, 1840-1920.Bull Hist Med · 2009 · 83(4):676-709doi:10.1353/bhm.0.0292 · PMID 20061670

    History of hookworm science drawing on the archives of the Rockefeller Foundation's International Health Board: the Foundation absorbed earlier Latin American national programs to launch its International Health hookworm eradication program in 1914. Context for the global campaigns; no treatment figures.

99. 99
    Lawton R. Early-life infectious disease exposure, the "hygiene hypothesis," and lifespan: Evidence from hookworm disease.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A · 2025 · 122(35):e2504265122doi:10.1073/pnas.2504265122 · PMID 40857314

    Quasi-experimental study linking the Rockefeller Sanitary Commission's deworming to adult death records: deworming before age five was associated with 2.5 additional months of life in nearly four million death records; the full text states that the campaign dewormed with thymol. Observational economics; cited for the long reach of the campaigns.

100. 100
     Reed JG. Carbon Tetrachloride and Oil of Chenopodium in Helminthiasis.Br Med J · 1923 · 1(3260):1048-9doi:10.1136/bmj.1.3260.1048 · PMID 20771196

     Borneo practitioner's report; Chandler and Mukerji summarize it as 60 minims carbon tetrachloride with 1 cc oil of chenopodium and liquid paraffin, said practically never to fail against Ascaris. The scanned text is not held as searchable text; cited for date and existence.

101. 101
     Avalishvili SD, Makhlina RM. [Effectiveness of oil of chenopodium produced in the Soviet Union].Med Parazitol (Mosk) · 1954 · 23(4):308-9PMID 14355398

     Russian-language report on a domestically produced Soviet oil; title only, cited to date the oil's continued manufacture in the 1950s.

102. 102
     Evdokimova SV. [Result of the application of piperazine sulfate and chenopodium oil in the treatment of ascariasis].Med Parazitol (Mosk) · 1958 · 27(4):422-4PMID 13589463

     Russian-language report from the year the two drugs overlapped in Soviet practice; title only, cited to show the oil was still in use there in 1958. No abstract or DOI.

103. 103
     Baronio GF, Castellini F. [Several cases of duodenal ancylostomiasis treated with hexylresorcinol and tetrachloroethylene with chenopodium oil].Rev Kuba Med Trop Parasitol · 1955 · 11(1-6):31-3PMID 13290294

     Cuban case series combining three of the era's drugs; title only, cited for date and place.

104. 104
     Nivaldo J. [Tetrachloroethylene associated with essence of Chenopodium against ancylostomatic infestation].Rev Bras Med · 1957 · 14(9):629-30PMID 13518699

     Brazilian report of the tetrachloroethylene-chenopodium combination in 1957; title only, cited for date and place.

105. 105
     Sen AB, Hawking F. Screening of cesticidal compounds on a tapeworm Hymenolepis nana in vitro.Br J Pharmacol Chemother · 1960 · 15(3):436-9doi:10.1111/j.1476-5381.1960.tb01269.x · PMID 13750047

     In a culture screen of tapeworm drugs, oil of chenopodium was among the most active substances, with dichlorophen, cashew extract and antimony tartrate. In vitro; shows the oil's reach beyond roundworms.

106. 106
     De AC. Jaundice and Acute Mania Following Combined Carbon Tetrachloride and Oil of Chenopodium Treatment for Hookworm.Ind Med Gaz · 1933 · 68(3):150PMID 29009279

     Read in full. One 26-year-old man given 40 minims carbon tetrachloride and 20 minims oil of chenopodium became jaundiced and delirious the next night and recovered in a week; the author had treated at least two thousand people by the combined method in three years without seeing it before. The author was assistant medical officer of the Bazaloni Tea Company at Makum Junction, Assam, and the case dates from November 1932; he blamed the combination. A single case; which drug was responsible cannot be told. No DOI.

107. 107
     Brant CH, Haire SD, Stumpe AR. Oil of chenopodium poisoning.J Pediatr · 1951 · 39(6):742-4doi:10.1016/s0022-3476(51)80240-3 · PMID 14898405

     American pediatric poisoning report; title only. Cited for date and venue.

108. 108
     Brachvogel R. [Oleum Chenopodii death due to insufficiently signed drug use?].Suddeutsch Apoth Ztg · 1948 · 88(5):131PMID 18876658

     German pharmacists' journal note asking whether a death from oleum chenopodii followed inadequately labeled drug use; title only; no DOI.

109. 109
     Eulner HH. [Medicinal poisoning with chenopodium oil complicated by chloral hydrate].Arch Toxikol · 1954 · 15(1):20-2PMID 13189514

     German toxicology report of a medicinal chenopodium poisoning complicated by the sedative chloral hydrate; title only.

110. 110
     Pannhorst R. [Determination of dosage for Chenopodium oil].Dtsch Med Wochenschr · 1956 · 81(7):245-6doi:10.1055/s-0028-1115670 · PMID 13317587

     A 1956 German paper on fixing the dose of the oil; title only, cited to show the dose question was still open in the 1950s.

111. 111
     Juul A, Vraa-Jensen G. On the effect of ascaridole on the inner ear electrobiological and histological studies on the localization of the cochlear microphone effect.Acta Pharmacol Toxicol (Copenh) · 1947 · 3(1):51-72doi:10.1111/j.1600-0773.1947.tb02637.x · PMID 20270058

     Experimental study of ascaridole's effect on the inner ear's electrical response; title only, cited as the laboratory counterpart to the clinical deafness reports.

112. 112
     Lurie MH. The ototoxicity of drugs.Trans Am Acad Ophthalmol Otolaryngol · 1955 · 59(2):111-7PMID 14373745

     A 1955 American review of drugs that damage hearing, indexed to chenopodium alongside quinine, salicylates and antibiotics; title and index terms only.

113. 113
     El Koraichi A, Ghannam A, Talha MY, Chmitah O, Al Haddoury M, El Kettani SE. [Acute percutaneous organophosphate poisoning: about a pediatric case].Presse Med · 2011 · 40(11):1083-5doi:10.1016/j.lpm.2011.03.008 · PMID 21511427

     French-language letter from Morocco on an infant's organophosphate poisoning through the skin; no abstract. PubMed indexes it under Chenopodium ambrosioides, antipyretics, malathion, cutaneous administration, coma and respiratory insufficiency, so the link to the plant rests on index terms only.

114. 114
     Hazim A, Bakkali F, Lhassani S, El Aidaoui K. Confusion Syndrome During COVID-19: The "Herb" That Hides the Forest?Cureus · 2021 · 13(9):e17775doi:10.7759/cureus.17775 · PMID 34659986

     An adult with delirium after taking the herb for persistent COVID-19 fever; the authors call it the first adult toxic encephalopathy attributed to it but cannot separate herb from virus. Single case.

115. 115
     Gadano A, Gurni A, Lopez P, Ferraro G, Carballo M. In vitro genotoxic evaluation of the medicinal plant Chenopodium ambrosioides L.J Ethnopharmacol · 2002 · 81(1):11-6doi:10.1016/s0378-8741(01)00418-4 · PMID 12020922

     Decoction and infusion at 1 to 1,000 micrograms per mL raised chromosomal aberrations and sister chromatid exchanges and lowered the mitotic index in cultured human lymphocytes. In vitro; relevance to drinkers of the tea is unknown.

116. 116
     Gadano AB, Gurni AA, Carballo MA. Argentine folk medicine: genotoxic effects of Chenopodiaceae family.J Ethnopharmacol · 2005 · 103(2):246-51doi:10.1016/j.jep.2005.08.043 · PMID 16219440

     Repeats the lymphocyte findings for C. ambrosioides and C. multifidum (both 'paico'), with Chenopodium album as a negative control, attributing the effect to the essential oil. In vitro.

117. 117
     Sowemimo AA, Fakoya FA, Awopetu I, Omobuwajo OR, Adesanya SA. Toxicity and mutagenic activity of some selected Nigerian plants.J Ethnopharmacol · 2007 · 113(3):427-32doi:10.1016/j.jep.2007.06.024 · PMID 17707603

     A whole-plant ethanol extract was non-toxic to brine shrimp and caused no chromosome damage in rat lymphocytes, in contrast to the Argentine human-lymphocyte results; the authors note telomerase inhibition. In vitro; the genotoxicity evidence is contradictory.

118. 118
     Kapadia GJ, Chung EB, Ghosh B, Shukla YN, Basak SP, Morton JF, Pradhan SN. Carcinogenicity of some folk medicinal herbs in rats.J Natl Cancer Inst · 1978 · 60(3):683-6doi:10.1093/jnci/60.3.683 · PMID 625070

     Twelve folk medicinal herbs bioassayed in outbred NIH Black rats by 72 weekly subcutaneous injections of total aqueous extracts, prompted by high esophageal cancer rates in people who used such herbs habitually; extracts of Chenopodium ambrosioides were tumorigenic in over 50 percent of treated animals. Tumor types are not given in the abstract; injection, not the oral route.

119. 119
     el-Mofty MM, Khudoley VV, Sakr SA, Ganem NF. Induction of neoplasms in Egyptian toads Bufo regularis by oil of chenopodium.Oncology · 1992 · 49(3):253-5doi:10.1159/000227050 · PMID 1495755

     Feeding the oil to toads produced liver cancers in 23 percent, with kidney metastases in six animals, after an average latent period of 3.6 months. An amphibian model; the only mammalian test found is a 1978 rat study by injection under the skin, and no oral mammalian or human study exists.

120. 120
     Molina RD, Santos HA. Tetrachlorethylene treatment of ankylostomiasis.J Philipp Med Assoc · 1946 · 22(9):385-7PMID 20288305

     Philippine report of tetrachloroethylene for hookworm in 1946; title only, cited for date.

121. 121
     Banerjee D, Prakash O, Kaliyugaperumal V. A clinical trial of Mebendazole (R17,635) in cases of hookworm infection.Indian J Med Res · 1972 · 60(4):562-6PMID 4660288

     An early human trial of mebendazole in hookworm; title only, cited for date.

122. 122
     Klein E. [Treatment of helminthiasis with mebendazole].Dtsch Med Wochenschr · 1972 · 97(33):1215-6doi:10.1055/s-0028-1107532 · PMID 4559174

     A placebo-controlled German trial of mebendazole in hookworm and whipworm infection from 1972; title and indexing only, cited for date.

123. 123
     Russell GJ, Gill JH, Lacey E. Binding of [3H]benzimidazole carbamates to mammalian brain tubulin and the mechanism of selective toxicity of the benzimidazole anthelmintics.Biochem Pharmacol · 1992 · 43(5):1095-100doi:10.1016/0006-2952(92)90617-r · PMID 1554382

     Radiolabeled benzimidazole carbamates (mebendazole and relatives) bound mammalian brain tubulin unstably at body temperature, unlike the near-irreversible binding at 37 degrees described in parasitic nematodes, which the authors give as the basis of the drugs' selective toxicity. Laboratory biochemistry.

124. 124
     Sprecher VP, Coulibaly JT, Hürlimann E, Hattendorf J, Keiser J. Efficacy and Safety of Moxidectin-Albendazole and Ivermectin-Albendazole Combination Therapy Compared to Albendazole Monotherapy in Adolescents and Adults Infected with Trichuris trichiura: A Randomized, Controlled Superiority Trial.Clin Infect Dis · 2023 · 77(9):1294-1302doi:10.1093/cid/ciad387 · PMID 37357904

     Randomized placebo-controlled trial in Côte d'Ivoire in people aged 12 to 60 with whipworm: cure rates 15.3 percent with moxidectin-albendazole and 22.5 percent with ivermectin-albendazole, not significantly different from 13.4 percent with albendazole alone. Shows that the benefit of combinations depends on setting.

125. 125
     Zamilpa A, Garcia-Alanis C, Lopez-Arellano ME, et al. In vitro nematicidal effect of Chenopodium ambrosioides and Castela tortuosa n-hexane extracts against Haemonchus contortus (Nematoda) and their anthelmintic effect in gerbils.J Helminthol · 2019 · 93(4):434-439doi:10.1017/S0022149X18000433 · PMID 29729678

     A hexane extract killed 96.3 percent of sheep stomach-worm larvae in vitro at 40 mg/mL and, injected intraperitoneally into infected gerbils, reduced worm burden by 45.8 percent (57.3 percent combined with Castela). The nearest modern test of the plant against a parasitic nematode in an animal; not oral, not human.

126. 126
     Hu X, Chu Y, Ma G, et al. Simultaneous determination of ascaridole, p-cymene and alpha-terpinene in rat plasma after oral administration of Chenopodium ambrosioides L. by GC-MS.Biomed Chromatogr · 2015 · 29(11):1682-6doi:10.1002/bmc.3479 · PMID 25900777

     A validated gas-chromatography method with limits of quantitation of 50, 10 and 5 ng/mL applied to rat pharmacokinetics after oral dosing: the only evidence found that ascaridole is absorbed into blood. Rat data; no human pharmacokinetics exist. Nine of the ten authors list Tasly Holding Group, a Chinese pharmaceutical company, as an affiliation, a possible commercial interest.

127. 127
     Su M, Li Z, Zhou S, et al. Kaempferitrin, a major compound from ethanol extract of Chenopodium ambrosioides, exerts antitumour and hepatoprotective effects in the mice model of human liver cancer xenografts.J Pharm Pharmacol · 2023 · 75(8):1066-1075doi:10.1093/jpp/rgad046 · PMID 37203217

     In 40 mice carrying human liver cancer grafts, 30 days of oral kaempferitrin (a flavonoid, not ascaridole) reduced tumor volume and mass and lowered liver enzymes. Mouse xenograft; a different chemistry from the oil.

128. 128
     Van Kiem P, Ai NTV, Tai BH, et al. Discovery of four new malabaricane saponins, malabarosides A-D, from the aerial parts of Dysphania ambrosioides with nitric oxide production inhibitory activity.J Nat Med · 2026 · (online)doi:10.1007/s11418-026-02074-x · PMID 42663801

     Four new triterpenoid saponins, the first malabaricane type reported from the Amaranthaceae, inhibited nitric oxide production in mouse macrophages at 52.6 to 61.0 micromolar. Cell culture; new chemistry, no clinical meaning yet.

129. 129
     Viet Ai NT, Hoang NH, Tai BH, et al. Dysphanosides A-E, five new 13-malabaricane saponins from Dysphania ambrosioides and their nitric oxide inhibitory activity.RSC Adv · 2026 · 16(39):44874-44882doi:10.1039/d6ra06496e · PMID 42559127

     Five further malabaricane saponins from the aerial parts, with moderate inhibition of nitric oxide production in mouse macrophages (50 percent inhibitory concentrations 58.86 to 77.09 micromolar). Cell culture; new chemistry only.

130. 130
     Ai NTV, Huong PTT, Bang NA, Hoang NH, Yen PH, Tai BH, Kiem PV. Two New Highly Oxygenated Monoterpenes From the Seeds of Dysphania ambrosioides and Their Inflammatory Activity In Vitro and In Silico.Chem Biodivers · 2026 · 23(6):e71445doi:10.1002/cbdv.71445 · PMID 42340131

     Two previously undescribed oxygenated menthane monoterpenes and five known ones from the seeds; two known compounds inhibited nitric oxide production at 14.5 and 17.4 micromolar, with docking pointing to inducible nitric oxide synthase. Cell culture and computer modeling.

131. 131
     Calado GP, Lopes AJO, Costa Junior LM, et al. Chenopodium ambrosioides L. Reduces Synovial Inflammation and Pain in Experimental Osteoarthritis.PLoS One · 2015 · 10(11):e0141886doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0141886 · PMID 26524084

     Hydroalcoholic leaf extract at 5 mg/kg reduced knee swelling, pain behavior and joint cell infiltrates in rats with chemically induced osteoarthritis; a docking calculation suggested ascaridole could bind the NMDA receptor. Rat model plus computer prediction.

132. 132
     Monzote L, Montalvo AM, Almanonni S, Scull R, Miranda M, Abreu J. Activity of the essential oil from Chenopodium ambrosioides grown in Cuba against Leishmania amazonensis.Chemotherapy · 2006 · 52(3):130-6doi:10.1159/000092858 · PMID 16636536

     The oil inhibited promastigotes and amastigotes at 50 percent effective doses of 3.7 and 4.6 micrograms per mL and, at 30 mg/kg/day intraperitoneally for 15 days, was effective in infected BALB/c mice. The first of the Havana series; mouse data.

133. 133
     Monzote L, Montalvo AM, Scull R, Miranda M, Abreu J. Activity, toxicity and analysis of resistance of essential oil from Chenopodium ambrosioides after intraperitoneal, oral and intralesional administration in BALB/c mice infected with Leishmania amazonensis: a preliminary study.Biomed Pharmacother · 2007 · 61(2-3):148-53doi:10.1016/j.biopha.2006.12.001 · PMID 17254746

     In mice, intraperitoneal oil at 30 mg/kg prevented lesion growth and reduced parasite load, oral was less effective, intralesional inactive; both beat amphotericin B at 1 mg/kg; toxicity appeared only with the intraperitoneal route. Mouse study.

134. 134
     Monzote L, Garcia M, Montalvo AM, Linares R, Scull R. Effect of oral treatment with the essential oil from Chenopodium ambrosioides against cutaneous leishmaniasis in BALB/c mice, caused by Leishmania amazonensis.Forsch Komplementmed · 2009 · 16(5):334-8doi:10.1159/000237741 · PMID 19887812

     Oral oil at 30 to 150 mg/kg for 15 days reduced lesions dose-dependently (50 percent effective dose 51.4 mg/kg) and at 150 mg/kg outperformed glucantime, amphotericin B and pentamidine with no gross toxicity. Mouse study.

135. 135
     Monzote L, Garcia M, Montalvo AM, Scull R, Miranda M, Abreu J. In vitro activity of an essential oil against Leishmania donovani.Phytother Res · 2007 · 21(11):1055-8doi:10.1002/ptr.2210 · PMID 17724767

     The oil inhibited L. donovani promastigotes and amastigotes at 50 percent effective concentrations of 4.45 and 5.1 micrograms per mL, irreversibly after 1 to 24 hours of exposure, while macrophage phagocytosis was preserved. In vitro.

136. 136
     Monzote L, Montalvo AM, Scull R, Miranda M, Abreu J. Combined effect of the essential oil from Chenopodium ambrosioides and antileishmanial drugs on promastigotes of Leishmania amazonensis.Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo · 2007 · 49(4):257-60doi:10.1590/s0036-46652007000400012 · PMID 17823757

     The oil was synergistic with pentamidine and indifferent with meglumine antimoniate and amphotericin B against promastigotes in culture. In vitro.

137. 137
     de Lara da Silva CE, Oyama J, Ferreira FBP, et al. Effect of essential oils on Leishmania amazonensis: a systematic review.Parasitology · 2020 · 147(13):1392-1407doi:10.1017/S0031182020001304 · PMID 32741424

     Systematic review of 35 plant oils, 2005 to 2019: C. ambrosioides oil given orally reduced parasite load and lesion volume in infected mice and was also effective intraperitoneally; most included studies were of moderate methodological quality. No human studies exist.

138. 138
     Monzote L, Garcia M, Pastor J, et al. Essential oil from Chenopodium ambrosioides and main components: activity against Leishmania, their mitochondria and other microorganisms.Exp Parasitol · 2014 · 136:20-6doi:10.1016/j.exppara.2013.10.007 · PMID 24184772

     Ascaridole was the most potent component against Leishmania and the whole oil the most selective; the mechanism was loss of mitochondrial membrane potential; only the whole oil was active against Plasmodium falciparum and Trypanosoma brucei, and nothing worked against bacteria or fungi. In vitro.

139. 139
     Pastor J, Garcia M, Steinbauer S, Setzer WN, Scull R, Gille L, Monzote L. Combinations of ascaridole, carvacrol, and caryophyllene oxide against Leishmania.Acta Trop · 2015 · 145:31-8doi:10.1016/j.actatropica.2015.02.002 · PMID 25697866

     Ascaridole with carvacrol was synergistic in vitro (fractional inhibitory concentration index 0.171), best at a 1:4 ratio, and intralesional combinations reduced lesion size and parasite burden in mice; spin-trapping showed carvacrol quenches the carbon radicals ascaridole makes with ferrous iron. Mouse and in vitro.

140. 140
     Machin L, Tamargo B, Pinon A, et al. Bixa orellana L. (Bixaceae) and Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin & Clemants (Amaranthaceae) Essential Oils Formulated in Nanocochleates against Leishmania amazonensis.Molecules · 2019 · 24(23):4222doi:10.3390/molecules24234222 · PMID 31757083

     Lipid nanocochleate formulation did not improve the in vitro activity of the D. ambrosioides oil, and in infected mice the formulated oil produced larger lesions than the plain oil. Mouse study; a negative for the delivery idea.

141. 141
     Kiuchi F, Itano Y, Uchiyama N, et al. Monoterpene hydroperoxides with trypanocidal activity from Chenopodium ambrosioides.J Nat Prod · 2002 · 65(4):509-12doi:10.1021/np010445g · PMID 11975490

     Against Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigotes (an insect-stage form grown in culture) ascaridole was active at 23 micromolar and four limonene-derived hydroperoxides at 0.8 to 3.1 micromolar. In vitro.

142. 142
     Avila-Blanco ME, Rodriguez MG, Moreno Duque JL, Munoz-Ortega M, Ventura-Juarez J. Amoebicidal Activity of Essential Oil of Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin & Clemants in an Amoebic Liver Abscess Hamster Model.Evid Based Complement Alternat Med · 2014 · 2014:930208doi:10.1155/2014/930208 · PMID 24757495

     The oil inhibited Entamoeba histolytica trophozoites at 0.7 mg/mL and oral doses of 8 and 80 mg/kg reversed infection in hamsters with liver abscess; ascaridole was the main component. Animal study.

143. 143
     Abbasi R, Efferth T, Kuhmann C, Opatz T, Hao X, Popanda O, Schmezer P. The endoperoxide ascaridol shows strong differential cytotoxicity in nucleotide excision repair-deficient cells.Toxicol Appl Pharmacol · 2012 · 259(3):302-10doi:10.1016/j.taap.2012.01.006 · PMID 22280988

     Of 53 phytochemicals screened, ascaridole was the most selective for cells lacking the DNA-repair genes ERCC6 or XPC: 50 percent inhibitory concentrations 0.15 and 0.18 micromolar against more than 180 micromolar in normal cells, with G2/M arrest and oxidative DNA damage (8-oxodG) only in repair-deficient cells. Cell culture.

144. 144
     Bezerra DP, Marinho Filho JD, Alves AP, et al. Antitumor activity of the essential oil from the leaves of Croton regelianus and its component ascaridole.Chem Biodivers · 2009 · 6(8):1224-31doi:10.1002/cbdv.200800253 · PMID 19697341

     Ascaridole from a Brazilian Croton was cytotoxic at 6.3 to 18.4 micrograms per mL and inhibited sarcoma 180 growth in mice by 33.9 percent at 10 mg/kg and 33.3 percent at 20 mg/kg with only weak organ effects. Mouse tumor model; the only in vivo cancer test of the pure compound found.

145. 145
     Huang J, Hao J, Nie J, et al. Possible Mechanism of Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin & Clemants Seed Extract Suppresses the Migration and Invasion of Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells SMMC-7721.Chem Biodivers · 2023 · 20(3):e202200768doi:10.1002/cbdv.202200768 · PMID 36694378

     Seed extract (ascaridole 25.82 percent) inhibited proliferation, migration and invasion of a liver cancer line with 50 percent inhibitory concentrations of 0.360 to 0.587 g/L and altered Wnt-pathway genes. Cell culture; the active compounds proposed were not ascaridole.

146. 146
     Abadia ACM, Trujillo Chacon LM, Willig JB, Osorio E, Pilger DA, Apel MA, Gnoatto SCB. Comparative Evaluation of the Cytotoxic Effect of Dysphania ambrosioides Extracts Against Human Breast and Cervical Cancer Cells.Chem Biodivers · 2026 · 23(7):e71452doi:10.1002/cbdv.71452 · PMID 42424091

     Colombian and Brazilian extracts differed chemically and killed HeLa, SiHa and MCF-7 cells at 50 percent inhibitory concentrations of 2.08 to 3.09 micrograms per mL with early apoptosis. Cell culture; geography changes the chemistry.

147. 147
     Zhou S, Zhang H, Li J, et al. Potential anti-liver cancer targets and mechanisms of kaempferitrin based on network pharmacology, molecular docking and experimental verification.Comput Biol Med · 2024 · 178:108693doi:10.1016/j.compbiomed.2024.108693 · PMID 38850960

     Database mining predicted 50 shared targets of kaempferitrin and liver cancer, docking and dynamics singled out SIRT1 and TP53, and mouse xenograft and cell experiments supported apoptosis through p21, Bcl-2 and caspase 3. Computational prediction with limited wet-laboratory confirmation.

148. 148
     Chu SS, Feng Hu J, Liu ZL. Composition of essential oil of Chinese Chenopodium ambrosioides and insecticidal activity against maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais.Pest Manag Sci · 2011 · 67(6):714-8doi:10.1002/ps.2112 · PMID 21360645

     Chinese oil and (Z)-ascaridole killed maize weevils by fumigation (median lethal concentrations 3.08 and 0.84 mg per liter of air). Insect data.

149. 149
     Qattan SYA, Ashour EA, Osman AO, et al. Physiological and microbial responses to periodic drinking-water supplementation with Chenopodium ambrosioides extract in broiler chickens.Poult Sci · 2026 · 105(12):107933doi:10.1016/j.psj.2026.107933 · PMID 42868851

     210 broiler chicks given a methanolic extract in drinking water every third day improved feed conversion (1.28 versus 1.47) with lower cecal coliforms. Veterinary nutrition; the plant's newest commercial direction.

150. 150
     Pavela R, Benelli G, Petrelli R, et al. Exploring the Insecticidal Potential of Boldo (Peumus boldus) Essential Oil: Toxicity to Pests and Vectors and Non-target Impact on the Microcrustacean Daphnia magna.Molecules · 2019 · 24(5):879doi:10.3390/molecules24050879 · PMID 30832296

     Commercial boldo leaf (about 2,000 tons exported from Chile yearly) gave 1.5 percent oil with 1,8-cineole 20.7, p-cymene 18.5, limonene 9.1 and ascaridole 9.1 percent, mostly the cis isomer by nuclear magnetic resonance. Shows how variable boldo's ascaridole is.

151. 151
     Vogel H, Razmilic I, Munoz M, Doll U, Martin JS. Studies of Genetic Variation of Essential Oil and Alkaloid Content in Boldo (Peumus boldus).Planta Med · 1999 · 65(1):90-1doi:10.1055/s-2006-960450 · PMID 17260243

     Ascaridole content in boldo is genetically determined, highest in northern Chilean populations and p-cymene highest in the south, with high heritability. Plant genetics.

152. 152
     Verdeguer M, Garcia-Rellan D, Boira H, Perez E, Gandolfo S, Blazquez MA. Herbicidal activity of Peumus boldus and Drimys winterii essential oils from Chile.Molecules · 2011 · 16(1):403-11doi:10.3390/molecules16010403 · PMID 21221059

     Chilean boldo leaf oil contained ascaridole 51.17 percent, p-cymene 16.31 and 1,8-cineole 14.45 percent and inhibited weed germination. Plant chemistry.

153. 153
     de Castro DSB, da Silva DB, Tiburcio JD, et al. Larvicidal activity of essential oil of Peumus boldus Molina and its ascaridole-enriched fraction against Culex quinquefasciatus.Exp Parasitol · 2016 · 171:84-90doi:10.1016/j.exppara.2016.10.008 · PMID 27815127

     Boldo oil with 31.4 percent ascaridole, and a fraction enriched to 89.5 percent, killed mosquito larvae at median lethal concentrations of 82.14 and 41.85 micrograms per mL with damage to the larval midgut. Insect data; shows boldo ascaridole can be concentrated.

154. 154
     de Souza WFM, Mariano XM, Isnard JL, et al. Evaluation of the volatile composition, toxicological and antioxidant potentials of the essential oils and teas of commercial Chilean boldo samples.Food Res Int · 2019 · 124:27-33doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2018.12.059 · PMID 31466647

     Ten commercial boldo teas: ascaridole was among the chemical markers in every sample's oil, but the brewed infusion's volatile fraction was dominated by terpineol, and the oils were highly cytotoxic (all median lethal doses below 200 ppm in a brine-shrimp assay). Shows the tea is not the oil.

155. 155
     Ribeiro RJ, Silvestre C, Duarte C. Hidden Risks of Alternative Medicines: A Case of Boldo-Induced Hepatotoxicity.J Diet Suppl · 2017 · 14(2):186-190doi:10.1080/19390211.2016.1207123 · PMID 27576017

     Case report from Portugal (online 2016): a 72-year-old woman developed jaundice and raised liver enzymes after two weeks of boldo-leaf infusion; with other causes excluded, boldo-induced hepatotoxicity was judged probable, and she recovered on stopping. Single case.

156. 156
     Carbajal R, Yisfalem A, Pradhan N, Baumstein D, Chaudhari A. Case report: boldo (Peumus boldus) and tacrolimus interaction in a renal transplant patient.Transplant Proc · 2014 · 46(7):2400-2doi:10.1016/j.transproceed.2014.01.021 · PMID 24981811

     Case report from New York: a 78-year-old kidney-transplant recipient had tacrolimus levels below 3 ng/mL while taking boldo 300 mg twice daily; one week after stopping, the level was 6.1 ng/mL on the same dose. Single case suggesting a herb-drug interaction.

157. 157
     Chaboussant PJ, Gagez AL, Graber M, et al. [Behavioural impairments and hallucinations after consumption of boldo leaf infusions].Therapie · 2014 · 69(5):465-7doi:10.2515/therapie/2014052 · PMID 25230279

     French case: behavioral disturbance and hallucinations in a twelve-year-old girl after boldo-leaf infusions, attributed by the authors to the alkaloid boldine. Single case.

158. 158
     Benelli G, Pavela R, Cianfaglione K, et al. Ascaridole-rich essential oil from marsh rosemary (Ledum palustre) growing in Poland exerts insecticidal activity on mosquitoes, moths and flies without serious effects on non-target organisms and human cells.Food Chem Toxicol · 2020 · 138:111184doi:10.1016/j.fct.2020.111184 · PMID 32061727

     A third ascaridole source: marsh rosemary oil with 35.3 percent ascaridole plus isoascaridole; insecticidal, with 50 percent inhibitory concentrations of 71.3 and 84.4 micrograms per mL in human keratinocytes and fibroblasts and no DNA damage on comet assay. In vitro.

159. 159
     Santos PÉMD, Barros MC, Freitas TP, et al. Assessment of acute dermal toxicity of Croton pulegiodorus Baill. leaf essential oil in mice.Toxicon · 2026 · 272:108992doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2026.108992 · PMID 41519205

     Croton pulegiodorus leaf oil (ascaridole 27.57, camphor 15.39, 1,8-cineole 14.16 percent) applied once to the skin of Swiss mice: no deaths, behavioral change or skin irritation; blood counts unchanged at 200 and 2,000 mg/kg, but red cells, hemoglobin, white cells and platelets fell at 1,000 mg/kg. Animal data.

160. 160
     Hausen BM, Reichling J, Harkenthal M. Degradation products of monoterpenes are the sensitizing agents in tea tree oil.Am J Contact Dermat · 1999 · 10(2):68-77doi:10.1016/s1046-199x(99)90002-7 · PMID 10357714

     Tea tree oil kept in light oxidized within days to months, its alpha-terpinene forming p-cymene, ascaridole, isoascaridole and other peroxides; oxidized oil was about three times the stronger sensitizer in guinea pigs, and all 11 tea-tree-allergic patients reacted on patch testing mostly to alpha-terpinene, terpinolene and ascaridole. Human patch-test and animal data.

161. 161
     Heredia Severino A, Fernandez-Lopez J, Borras-Rocher F, Viuda-Martos M. Essential Oils and Extracts from Epazote (Dysphania ambrosioides): A Phytochemical Treasure with Multiple Applications.Plants (Basel) · 2025 · 14(13):1903doi:10.3390/plants14131903 · PMID 40647909

     A 2025 review that used an artificial-intelligence clustering tool to cut 814 Scopus records by 86.73 percent before reading; summarizes antiparasitic, antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticancer reports and concedes that safety and efficacy await clinical trials. Its method is unusual and is noted here as a limitation.

162. 162
     Gong W, Li Q, Tu Y, et al. Diversity and functional traits of seed endophytes of Dysphania ambrosioides from heavy metal contaminated and non-contaminated areas.World J Microbiol Biotechnol · 2024 · 40(6):191doi:10.1007/s11274-024-04003-0 · PMID 38702442

     The plant is a hyperaccumulator of several heavy metals; seeds from contaminated sites carried more metal-resistant bacteria. A reason to ask where a culinary or medicinal plant was grown.

163. 163
     Kadi M, Berraaouan A, Mekhfi H, Ziyyat A, Bnouham M, Legssyer A. Cardioprotective Effects of Dysphania ambrosioides Leaves Against Ischemia/Reperfusion-Induced Myocardial Injury in Langendorff-Perfused Rat Heart.ScientificWorldJournal · 2026 · 2026(1):e2570536doi:10.1155/tswj/2570536 · PMID 42046312

     Aqueous leaf extract at 10 to 40 micrograms per mL perfused through isolated rat hearts lessened injury after 30 minutes of global ischemia. Isolated organ; not a human study.

164. 164
     Kandsi F, Lafdil FZ, Bouknana S, et al. In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation of the Antidiabetic, Antioxidant, and Antibacterial Activities of the Hydroethanolic Extract of Dysphania ambrosioides L.Chem Biodivers · 2026 · 23(8):e71437doi:10.1002/cbdv.71437 · PMID 42603283

     The extract inhibited pancreatic alpha-amylase (50 percent inhibitory concentration 1.22 mg/mL), reduced starch-induced hyperglycemia in normal and alloxan-diabetic rats, lowered intestinal glucose absorption in situ, and inhibited four bacteria at 0.07 to 0.625 mg/mL. Rat and in vitro data; no human study.