Abstract

The recent report on patterns of malaria endemicity in Nigeria continues to show high levels of burden across the country with majority of the population at risk. Therefore, the development of safe and effective anti-malarial drug from locally grown medicinal plants may serve as an alternative for novel drugs for malaria control. Especially, in rural areas deprived of modern antimalarial drugs and higher mortality. This study was carried out to evaluate in vivo antiplasmodial effect of methanolic and aqueous extracts of Alstonia boonei leaves and stem bark. The qualitative and quantitative phytochemical analysis of the extracts was carried out using standard methods. The in vivo anti-plasmodial effect against infection was studied using 4-day suppressive test in chloroquine sensitive Plasmodium berghei NK65-infected mice. Results of the phytochemical tests showed that alkaloids and terpenoids were absent in aqueous extracts. Quantitative screening of the methanolic extract of leaves revealed the presence of tannins (14.75%), alkaloids (8.79%) and terpenoids (7.19%). The suppressive test revealed that methanolic and aqueous leave extract exerted significant (P<.05) dose-dependent reduction against the parasite. The administered dosages 500mg/kg body weight per day of Alstonia boonei methanolic and aqueous extract of leaves caused chemo suppression of 97.80% and 71.42% respectively on day four, similar dosages of methanolic and aqueous stem bark extract caused chemo suppression of 89.59% and 72.89% respectively on day four. In conclusion, Alstonia boonei contained active antiplasmodial compounds and therefore might be a potential antimalarial drug.

Keywords

antiplasmodial, suppressive, chemo suppression, extracts