Abstract
Terminalia glaucescens (T. glaucescens) stem bark is used in ethno-medicine for the management of malaria and other diseases in Northern Nigeria. In this study, antiplasmodial, analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of crude and alkaloidal extracts of T. glaucescens stem bark were evaluated against Plasmodium berghei in mice. Six (6) groups of 3 mice each were inoculated with Plasmodium berghei infected blood. Groups I to V were treated orally with 250 and 500 mg/kg bw crude methanol extract of T. glaucescens stem bark, 100 mg/kgbw of alkaloidal fraction, 100 mg/kg body weight Artemisia herbal and 5 mg/kg bw chloroquine, once daily for five days. Analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of the crude extract were evaluated at doses of 400 and 800 mg/kg bw. Results shows that chloroquine reduced the parasitaemia level the most (89.20 %) this was followed by Artemisia herbal standard (72.80 %) and alkaloidal extract recorded 72.07 % parasitaemia reduction. The extract caused an increase in packed cell volume and body weight of the animal. The analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of crude extract of T. glaucescens stem bark (800 mg/kg body weight) were 56.86 and 78.79 % respectively compared to the acetyl salicylic acid standard drug (75.68 and 95.96 %) respectively. From the study Terminalia glaucescens stem bark extract was found to possess antimalarial, analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties, which however was lower than that of the standards used. This however, provides a scientific basis to the folkloric claim of the plant in the management of pain and similar ailments.
Highlights
Malaria is intractable globally and it remains one of the most deadly parasitic diseases in the tropics and subtropics
In the acute toxicity study, no death was recorded in the animals receiving methanol extract of Terminalia glaucescens up to a dose of 5000 mg/kg body weight
From the toxicity studies (Table 1), the lethal dose (LD50) of the plant extract was estimated to be greater than 5000 mg /kg body weight in rats, suggesting the extract is safe to be used
Summary
Malaria is intractable globally and it remains one of the most deadly parasitic diseases in the tropics and subtropics. It was estimated that 214 million cases of malaria occurred worldwide in 2015, and an estimated 438,000 deaths [1]. Most of the death was in the Africa regions, followed by South Eastern region and Eastern Mediterranean region [2]. Thirty percent of these deaths occur in Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo. In areas with high transmission of malaria, children under 5 years are susceptible to infection, illness and death; more than two thirds (70 %) of all malaria deaths occur in this age group [3]. Malaria remains a major killer of children under five years old, taking the life of a child every two minutes [4]. In Nigeria malaria is endemic and approximately 97 % of the population of about 173 million are at risk, and about 300, 000 deaths reported annually [2]
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