Prophylactic and Curative Potency of Alchornea laxiflora Extract on Plasmodium berghei Infected Swiss Albino Mice

Background: Malaria is one of the most important infectious diseases in Nigeria and in Africa at large as everyone is at risk of the infection.

Objectives: This study was carried out to evaluate the antiplasmodial activity of Alchornea laxiflora leaf extracts against Plasmodium berghei infected mice.

Materials and Methods: In vivo antimalarial assay on chloroquine-sensitive P. berghei-infected mice was carried out by oral administration of graded doses (200 mg/kg, 400 mg/kg and 600 mg/kg) of methanolic and chloroform extracts using chloroquine and distilled water as positive and negative control respectively. Prophylactic potential in residual infection and curative assay against established infection were tested in P. berghei-infected mice. The assay was performed using 4-day suppressive standard test.

Results: The prophylactic efficacy of methanolic and chloroform leaf extacts showed percentage chemosuppression of 72.37% and 66.32% respectively at oral dose of 600 mg/kg. The methanol leaf extract of A. laxiflora displayed the highest curative activity of percentage chemosuppression of 98.36% at oral dose of 600 mg/kg. The extracts displayed dose-dependent significant (p ≤ 0.05) antiplasmodial activity as compared to the control. Haematological analysis revealed an increase in packed cell volume, red blood cell, haemoglobin and white blood cell counts on dose-dependent manner in the treated mice compared to the negative control mice.

Conclusion: The high suppressive values obtained in this study show that the tested leaf extracts of Alchornea laxiflora might be a good alternative drug for the treatment of malaria infection in Nigeria.