PRECLINICAL ANTIMALARIAL EVALUATION OF A BI-HERBAL COMBO OF ENANTIA CHLORANTHA AND NAUCLEA LATIFOLIA (BHE BATCH 4) IN MICE INFECTED WITH PLASMODIUM BERGHEI (NK65)

ABSTRACT

Enantia chlorantha and Nauclea latifolia are plants utilized as traditional medicine in Nigeria for the treatment of malaria. Enantia chlorantha is able to confer antiplasmodial activity in vitro due to the fact that it possesses protoberberine alkaloids and flavonoids. In this experimental research, a hydroethanol extract was obtained from the barks of Enantia chlorantha and Nauclea latifolia. For the antimalarial study, twenty-five male Swiss albino mice weighing an average of 22 g, were randomly distributed into 5 groups labelled; group 1; Negative control (NC) which received normal saline after infection, group 2; positive control (PC) which had infected mice that received 25 mg/kg chloroquine after infection, group 3 which received 50 mg/kg body weight of BHE batch 4_A after infection, Group 4 which received 100 mg/kg body weight of BHE batch 4_B after infection and group 5 which received 250 mg/kg body weight of BHE batch 4_C after infection. Treatment was done 3 hours after infection and 3 days thereafter. Smears were made from the lateral vein of each mice for determination of percentage parasitemia. Infection was with 2 x 104 Plasmodium berghei. Mice administered 250 mg/kg body weight of BHE batch 4 showed a significant decrease in percentage parasitemia as compared to the negative control group and this suggest that the bi-herbal combo has an impressive antimalarial activity