| Summary: | <i>Cryptosporidium parvum</i> is a significant cause of watery diarrhoea in humans and other animals worldwide. Although hundreds of novel drugs have been evaluated, no effective specific chemotherapeutic intervention for <i>C. parvum</i> has been reported. There has been much recent interest in evaluating plant-derived products in the fight against gastrointestinal parasites, including <i>C. parvum</i>. This study aimed to identify extracts from 13 different plant species that provide evidence for inhibiting the growth of <i>C. parvum</i> in vitro. Efficacy against <i>C. parvum</i> was detected and quantified using quantitative PCR and immunofluorescence assays. All plant extracts tested against <i>C. parvum</i> showed varying inhibition activities in vitro, and none of them produced a cytotoxic effect on HCT-8 cells at concentrations up to 500 µg/mL. Four plant species with the strongest evidence of activity against <i>C. parvum</i> were <i>Curcuma longa</i>, <i>Piper nigrum, Embelia ribes</i>, and <i>Nigella sativa,</i> all with dose-dependent efficacy. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first time that these plant extracts have proven to be experimentally efficacious against <i>C. parvum</i>. These results support further exploration of these plants and their compounds as possible treatments for <i>Cryptosporidium</i> infections.
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