ABSTRACT
Herbal antimalarials have become a popular source of treatment for most Nigerians. The significant increase in patronage is of public health concern due to the lack of quality, safety and efficacy data. Consequently, the objective of this research was to determine the phytochemical components and safety profiles of the polyherbal antimalarial remedy, which was formulated from the leaves of Cymbopogon citratus, Moringa oleifera, Justicia carnea, Carica papaya, Anacardium occidentale, Ocimum gratissimum, Mangifera indica, Psidium guajava and Azadirachta indica. Phytochemical screening was done using standard methods of analysis while acute toxicity of the polyherbal extract was evaluated in male mice (n = 20) divided into 4 groups (n = 5), given a single dose of 0, 0.5, 1 and 2 g/kg body weight (bw) of the extract. Animal’s general behaviour, adverse effects and mortality were observed every hour12 for the first four hours and thereafter, daily for 14 days. Sub-acute toxicity profile was evaluated in male Wistar rats (n = 20) divided into 4 groups (n = 5), given daily doses of 0, 200, 400 and 800 mg/kg bw of the extract, for 14 days. On day 15, animals were sacrificed via chloroform anaesthesia, blood collected and haematological parameters analyzed. Phytochemical analysis of the polyherbal extract unveiled the presence of several bioactive compounds including alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, reducing sugar, steroids and tannins. The extract had LD50 > 2 g/kg; while haematological parameters were not significantly affected except for the 400 mg/kg dose of the extract that significantly reduced the Red Blood x Cell count (RBC) and Haematocrit value (HCT) of male Wistar rats, when compared with the control. In conclusion, this study has shown the presence of useful metabolites in the polyherbal extract and suggests that caution should be taken when the antimalarial polyherbal extract is in use.
