EVALUATION OF THE ANTIMALARIAL ACTIVITY OF PICRALIMA NITIDA

ABSTRACT

Malaria, one of the deadliest infectious diseases in the world is caused by Plasmodium parasites. Over the years medicinal plants have been employed in the management of the disease. Picralima nitida is one of the medicinal plants useful for managing malaria. This study evaluated the antimalarial activity of Picralima nitida seed methanol extract in mice. Picralima nitida seed (340g) was soaked in 2.5 L of methanol for 72 hr. with constant stirring. At the end of the 72-hr. period, it was filtered with the aid of a muslin cloth. Extract was concentrated using rotary evaporator and placed on an oven at 30oC until it was completely dry. Male mice (42) were randomly assigned into 6 groups of 7 mice each. Group 1 mice served as normal control i.e. uninfected/untreated. Mice in groups 2 to 6 were infected with 2 x 105 Plasmodium berghei. Three hours after that, group 2 mice received the vehicle (normal saline) whereas group 3 mice received 25 mg/kg b.wt. chloroquine while mice in groups 4-6 received varying doses of the Picalima nitida extract seed. Treatment was done for a total duration of 4 days. On day 5, 3 mice were weighed and sacrificed from each group and their spleens were excised to calculate the spleen/body weight ratio. Blood was also collected in EDTA bottles for hematological analysis. Smear was then made from the lateral tail vain of the remaining four mice in each group. The animals that received Picralima nitida extract displayed a dose-dependent decrease parasitemia. Animals that received 50 and 100 mg/kg b.wt. displayed parasite suppression which was comparable to that of chloroquine suggesting that Picralima nitida seed has excellent antimalarial activity.An observation was carried out for the mean survival time and the extract was said to have a comparable effect with chloroquine, increasing survival time by about 9 days. The result of the study thus justifies the use of Picralima nitida seed in the management of malaria.