# Phytomedicines and conventional drugs in scabies management

**Authors:** Majedul Hoque

PMC · DOI: 10.3205/dgkh000625 · 2026-02-17

## TL;DR

This paper reviews natural and conventional treatments for scabies, highlighting the potential of medicinal plants as safer and effective alternatives.

## Contribution

The paper provides a comprehensive overview of plant-based treatments for scabies, emphasizing their bioactive properties.

## Key findings

- Medicinal plants like Melaleuca alternifolia and Curcuma longa show potential in treating scabies.
- Bioactive compounds in these plants have antibacterial properties useful for scabies management.
- Natural treatments could offer safer alternatives to conventional chemical drugs.

## Abstract

In some countries, the prevalence of scabies varies from 32.1% to 74%, especially in overcrowded institutions like boarding schools, prisons, and orphanages. The aim of this article is to give an overview of current options for scabies treatment, with the focus on natural treatment choices.

Different research databases including Google Scholar, PubMed, Springer, Science Direct, and NIH also scientific website were searched using keywords like “scabies”, “natural treatment for scabies”, “plant-based oil”, “chemical agent for scabies”, “essential oil used to treat scabies mite”, and “traditional medicine” to collect relevant information.

A lot of medicinal plants have been reviewed for their potential use in treating scabies, including Melaleuca alternifolia, Curcuma longa, Azadirachta indica, Rosmarinus officinalis, Capsicum annuum, Ocimum sanctum, Pongamia pinnata, and Citrus limon. Numerous bioactive chemicals found in all of the plants under study have the potential to treat scabies and can be used to treat this illness.

Medicinal herbs offer a potential, safer, and possibly more successful therapeutic alternative for the treatment of scabies along with conventional chemical drugs because of their richness of bioactive components with antibacterial qualities. This area of research must be continued.

## Linked entities

- **Diseases:** scabies (MONDO:0004525)
- **Species:** Melaleuca alternifolia (taxon 164405), Curcuma longa (taxon 136217), Azadirachta indica (taxon 124943), Capsicum annuum (taxon 4072), Pongamia pinnata (taxon 56065)

## Full-text entities

- **Diseases:** scabies (MESH:D012532)
- **Chemicals:** essential oil (MESH:D009822), Phytomedicines (-)
- **Species:** Ocimum tenuiflorum (holy basil, species) [taxon 204149], Pongamia pinnata (Indian beech tree, species) [taxon 56065], Salvia rosmarinus (rosemary, species) [taxon 39367], Azadirachta indica (Indian-lilac, species) [taxon 124943], Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree, species) [taxon 164405], Capsicum annuum (sweet pepper, species) [taxon 4072], Citrus x limon (lemon, species) [taxon 2708], Curcuma longa (turmeric, species) [taxon 136217]

## Figures

7 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12981035/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12981035