Antimalarial Activity of Ethanolic Leaf Extract of Sarcocephalus latifolius and its Ameliorative Effect on Biochemical and Hematological Parameters of Plasmodium berghei-Infected Mice
ABSTRACT
Malaria is a deadly disease that poses huge economic burden to the world most especially
in the African continent. This study investigated the antimalarial activity of ethanol leaf
extract of Sarcocephalus latifoliusand its ameliorative effects on biochemical and
hematological parameters of Plasmodium berghei-infected mice.The antimalarial assay was
carried out using the method described by Akuodor et al., in mice infected with
chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium berghei ANKA strain. Animals were treated with 50, 100,
and 150 mg/kg of ethanolthe extract as well as ACT which served as the standard drug. The
activities of serum aspartate aminotranferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and
alkaline phosphotase (ALP) were determined using randox kit method while hematological
analysis was conducted using standard methods. The ethanol extract of S.
latifoliussignificantly (p<0.05) inhibited parasitemia in a dose-dependent manner. In
addition, there were no significant differences between the groups treated with 100 and
150 mg/kg of the extract when compared with the group treated with the standard
drug.Furthermore, the results showed that the group treated with the extract exhibited
significant (p<0.05) improvement in RBC count compared to the infected untreated mice.
Significant reduction (p<0.05) in serum ALT, AST and ALT were noted mainly in higher
doses of S. latifoliustreatment and standard drug when compared to the infected untreated
group. Individual variation in the level of ALT was noticed among the study groups.
Therefore, this plant may be useful in the development of a new drug for malaria treatment
owing to its high antimalarial activity.
Keywords:Sarcocephalus latifolius, malaria, Plasmodium, haematological, extract, antiplasmodial
