Europe PMC · 2026-06-19
A systematic review of 20 African studies found that medicinal plant extracts can kill cattle ticks resistant to chemical pesticides, with 40% of tested plants showing high effectiveness. The tick species targeted, Rhipicephalus microplus, has spread resistance to synthetic treatments globally, making plant-based alternatives increasingly urgent.
40% of the 20 qualifying studies reported high tick mortality from plant extracts; 35% reported moderate efficacy; 25% reported low efficacy.
Plants from 26 families were tested; Asteraceae (daisy family, n=7) and Lamiaceae (mint family, n=7) were most studied, followed by Fabaceae (legume family, n=5).
Only 20 studies out of 2,046 retrieved met inclusion criteria, revealing a major gap in African research on plant-based tick control.