BIOMEDICAL OVERVIEW OF THE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT UTILIZATION IN THE SCABIES ERADICATION AS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASE

Abstract

Scabies is considered by WHO as a neglected tropical disease and requires large-scale control. Treatment of scabies so far has focused on chemical agents, such as Permethrin 5% which is reported to be irritating, unsafe for infants, pregnant women, toxic to the elderly, and trigger resistance to the mite Sarcoptes scabiei. For this reason, the development of treatment is urgently needed by using active ingredients that are safer and more effective. Indonesia is a tropical country that has many agricultural products which are useful for the treatment of scabies. The purpose of this study is to review the possibility of agricultural products that can be used as active compounds for scabies eradication in Indonesia. This study is a systematic review conducted from January-July 2022. The literature search was carried out through electronic databases, namely Science Direct, PubMed, Cochrane, Google scholar, and Springer Link using inclusion and exclusion criteria. Previously, screening was carried out using the Patient, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, and Study (PICOS) criteria. From the search results for 1,357 articles, there were 19 articles that matched the inclusion criteria. The findings of this study indicate that various agricultural products can be extracted for their active compounds to be used in the treatment of scabies in Indonesia, such as Nimba leaves, maja, skeleton grass, reeds, tea tree, manga, betel, areca nut, galangal, beluntas, bratawali, temu hitam, temu putih. The active compounds produced from the extraction process of leaves, roots, flowers and seeds of agricultural products are proven to be able to inhibit the life cycle of Sarcoptes scabiei during its metamorphosis process. Irritation and toxicity caused by conventional scabies treatment, as well as potential resistance to scabicide drugs encourage the possibility of using herbal remedies from agricultural products that are more effective and without side effects.