ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE: Antiplasmodial effects of aqueous leaf extracts of Senna alata and Dennettia tripetalla in chloroquine-sensitive Plasmodium berghei berghei (NK65) infected mice

Abstract

The antiplasmodial effects of Senna alata and Dennettia tripetalla on chloroquine-sensitive Plasmodium berghei berghei (NK65) were analysed. P. berghei was obtained from National Institute for Medical Research, Lagos, Nigeria, and maintained in the laboratory by serial passage in mice. Chemosuppressive, prophylactic, and curative procedures were used to evaluate the antiplasmodial potentials of the extracts against established infection. A total of 320 albino mice were used for this study. Twenty-five albino mice were divided into 5 groups and used for D. tripetalla acute toxicity study. Eighty-five albino mice were divided into 15 groups of five albino mice each and used for chemosuppressive tests while two hundred and ten mice were used for prophylactic and curative tests. The infected mice were orally treated daily with 5mg/kg chloroquine 500 mg/kg, 1000 mg/kg, 1500 mg/kg, and 2000 mg/kg body weight of S. alata, D. tripetalla, and S. alata + D. tripetalla respectively. The in vivo antiplasmodial effect of the extracts against P. berghei infection showed a significant (p?0.05) dose-dependent schizontocidal activity for the chemosuppressive, and prophylactic test. Results of the curative study showed that the combination of both S. alata and D. tripetalla exhibited a strong curative effect on malaria parasitaemia. There was a significant clearance (p?0.05) in parasiteamia level from day 1 to day 5 of treatment in a dose-dependent manner with a corresponding significant (p?0.05) percentage suppression. It was therefore concluded that the leaf extracts of S. alata and D. tripetalla possess antimalarial potencies which could be exploited for antimalarial therapy.