Screening of Mediterranean Rosaceae plants for their molluscicidal and piscicidal activities.

Extracts of increasing polarity of 13 plants belonging to Mediterranean Rosaceae were tested for possible lethal toxicity against Biomphalaria glabrata Say, a snail intermediate host of Schistosoma mansoni Sambon. Due to the search for compounds without toxicity in nontarget organisms, principally fish and humans, the piscicidal toxicity of the active extracts was also evaluated.