Department of Life Sciences, Dire Dawa University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2012 Jan 6;139(1):221-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2011.11.006. Epub 2011 Nov 11.
The study documented medicinal plants that are traditionally used for treatment of malaria in Shinile District, eastern Ethiopia, and evaluated selected medicinal plants for their antiplasmodial activities against Plasmodium berghei.
The study was conducted in four kebeles of Shinile District, Somali Region, Ethiopia. A total of 15 traditional healers were sampled based on recommendations of local elders and administrators. Specimens of the reported antimalarial plants were collected and stored at the Mini Herbarium of the Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, Addis Ababa University, following identification. Crude aqueous and ethanol extracts of Aloe sp., Azadirachta indica and Tamarindus indica were tested in vivo against Plasmodium berghei. The three plants were selected based on the frequency antimalarial use report by healers.
The study revealed 27 antimalarial plants, the majority of which were harvested from the wild. Root was the most frequently sought plant part. Most of the remedies were used in decoction form. Aloe sp., Azadirachta indica and Tamarindus indica were the most commonly reported plants for their antimalarial use. For the in vivo test, all the plant extracts were given to mice orally. Ethanol and aqueous leaf extracts of Aloe sp. caused 73.94% and 58.10% parasitaemia suppression, respectively at dose of 650 mg/kg. Ethanol extract of Azadirachta indica leaves induced 54.79% parasitaemia suppression at the dose of 650 mg/kg and its water extract induced 21.47% parasite suppression at a similar dose. Water extract of the fruits of Tamarindus indica showed the highest parasitaemia suppression (81.09%) at the dose of 650 mg/kg. Most Plasmodium berghei infected mice treated with high dose of plant extracts survived relatively longer compared to their respective controls although the difference was not significant.
The result of this study may support the traditional use of Aloe sp., Azadirachta indica and Tamarindus indica in the study area against malaria. Results of this study can be used as a basis for further phytochemical and pharmacological investigations in the effort for search of new and locally affordable antimalarial agents.
本研究记录了在埃塞俄比亚东部希内勒地区传统上用于治疗疟疾的药用植物，并评估了一些药用植物对伯氏疟原虫的抗疟活性。
该研究在索马里地区希内勒区的四个基贝拉进行。根据当地长老和行政人员的建议，共抽取了 15 名传统治疗师作为样本。报告的抗疟植物标本经鉴定后，在亚的斯亚贝巴大学 Aklilu Lemma 病理生物学研究所的迷你植物标本室中收集和保存。在体内对 Aloe sp.、Azadirachta indica 和 Tamarindus indica 的水提物和乙醇提取物进行了抗伯氏疟原虫活性测试。这三种植物是根据治疗师报告的抗疟使用频率选择的。
研究发现 27 种抗疟植物，其中大多数是从野外采集的。根是最常被寻找的植物部分。大多数疗法以汤剂形式使用。Aloe sp.、Azadirachta indica 和 Tamarindus indica 是最常被报道用于抗疟的植物。在体内试验中，所有植物提取物均经口给予小鼠。Aloe sp.的乙醇和水提叶提取物在 650mg/kg 剂量下分别抑制 73.94%和 58.10%的寄生虫血症。Azadirachta indica 叶的乙醇提取物在 650mg/kg 剂量下诱导 54.79%的寄生虫血症抑制，其水提取物在类似剂量下诱导 21.47%的寄生虫抑制。Tamarindus indica 果实的水提物在 650mg/kg 剂量下显示出最高的寄生虫血症抑制（81.09%）。与各自的对照相比，用高剂量植物提取物治疗的大多数感染 Plasmodium berghei 的小鼠存活时间相对较长，尽管差异不显著。
本研究结果可能支持在研究区域使用 Aloe sp.、Azadirachta indica 和 Tamarindus indica 治疗疟疾的传统用法。本研究结果可作为进一步进行植物化学和药理学研究的基础，以寻找新的、当地负担得起的抗疟药物。
