Molluscicidal effectiveness of Luo-Wei, a novel plant-derived molluscicide, against Oncomelania hupensis, Biomphalaria alexandrina and Bulinus truncatus

Background Control of snail intermediate hosts has been proved to be a fast and efficient approach for interrupting the transmission of schistosomiasis. Some plant extracts have shown obvious molluscicidal activity, and a new compound Luo-Wei, also named tea-seed distilled saponin (TDS), was developed based on the saponins extracted from Camellia oleifera seeds. We aimed to test the molluscicidal activity of 4% TDS against the intermediate host snails in China and Egypt, and evaluate its environmental safety to non-target organisms.