Abstract
The search for new antimalarial drugs has become an urgent requirement due to resistance to the available drugs and the lack of an effective vaccine. In this respect, the present study aimed to evaluate the antimalarial activity of kaempferol against Plasmodium berghei infection in mice as an in vivo model. Chronic toxicity and antimalarial activities of kaempferol alone and in combination with chloroquine were investigated in P. berghei ANKA infected ICR mice using standard procedures. The results showed that chronic administration of 2,000 mg/kg of kaempferol resulted in no overt signs of toxicity as well as no hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, or hematotoxicity. Interestingly, kaempferol exerted significant (P < 0.05) chemosuppressive, chemoprophylactic, and curative activities in a dose-dependent manner. The highest antimalarial activity was found at a dose of 20 mg/kg which resulted in a significantly (P < 0.05) prolonged survival of infected mice. Moreover, combination treatment of chloroquine and kaempferol also presented significant (P < 0.05) antimalarial effects, although the effects were not significantly different from the chloroquine treated group. From the results of the present study, it can be concluded that kaempferol possesses acceptable antimalarial activities. However, further investigation should be undertaken on the mechanism responsible for the observed antimalarial activity.
Highlights
Malaria is still a public health problem and it is among the most deadly parasitic diseases around the world especially in many tropical and subtropical regions
Kaempferol was well-tolerated by mice over a period of administration of 30 days
Chronic administration of 2,000 mg/kg of kaempferol did not result in any overt signs of toxicity
Summary
Malaria is still a public health problem and it is among the most deadly parasitic diseases around the world especially in many tropical and subtropical regions. Malaria is a disease that is transmitted by the bite of a female Anopheles mosquito, which is infected by a parasite of the genus Plasmodium. The emergence of Plasmodium parasite resistance to existing antimalarial drugs, as well as Anopheles mosquito resistance to insecticides could render some of the current management tools ineffective and trigger a new rise in malaria mortality [3]. It is necessary to search for new, safe, and affordable antimalarial drugs for the treatment of the disease. In this respect, medicinal plants are potential resources in the search for antimalarial agents. This is because most of these plants are rich in secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, terpenoids, alkaloids, and quercetin that have been reported to have antimalarial activity [4]
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