Department of Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
Department of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Wachamo University, Hosanna, Ethiopia.
Malar J. 2019 Jul 30;18(1):261. doi: 10.1186/s12936-019-2887-7.
More than 200 medicinal plants including Euphorbia abyssinica are utilized for treatment of malaria in Ethiopian traditional medical practices. However, the safety, efficacy and quality of these medicinal plants are largely unknown. Pharmacological and toxicological investigations of these plants are among the prioritized issues in every country. The aim of this study was, therefore, to evaluate the anti-malarial activity of Euphorbia abyssinica root extract against Plasmodium berghei infection in mice.
The fresh roots of Euphorbia abyssinica were identified and collected. They were dried and extracted by 80% methanol using maceration. Acute toxicity of the extract was done using female Swiss albino mice. Anti-malarial activity of the extract was done by a standard 4-day suppressive test using chloroquine-sensitive Plasmodium berghei. Twenty-five male Swiss albino mice were randomly grouped into 5 groups of 5 mice each. Group I was treated with distilled water (10 ml/kg), group II, III, and IV were treated with 200, 400, and 600 mg/kg of extract, respectively and group V was treated with chloroquine (25 mg/kg). The level of parasitaemia, survival time, and variation in weight were utilized to determine the anti-malarial activity of the extract. Data was analysed using ANOVA followed by Tukey test.
The plant extract did not show any sign of toxicity and mortality at 2000 mg/kg. The 4-day chemosuppressive anti-malarial activities produced by the crude extract were 66.87% (P < 0.001), 84.94% (P < 0.001) and 93.69% (P < 0.001) at 200, 400 and 600 mg/kg extract, respectively, compared to distilled water treated group. Mice treated with 400 mg/kg (P < 0.01), and 600 mg/kg extract (P < 0.001) showed significant chemosuppressive anti-malarial activity variations as compared to mice treated with 200 mg/kg extract. Mice treated with 600 mg/kg extract significantly (P < 0.001) lived longer than distilled water treated mice. However, the crude extract did not cause any significant change on body weights of mice.
From this study, it can be concluded that the root of Euphorbia abyssinica showed very good 4-day chemosuppressive anti-malarial activity. The plant might contain biologically active compounds which are relevant for treatment of malaria. Further phytochemical, toxicological and pharmacological investigations are, therefore, required to evaluate its anti-malarial potential.
在埃塞俄比亚传统医学实践中，有 200 多种药用植物，包括大戟属植物，被用于治疗疟疾。然而，这些药用植物的安全性、疗效和质量在很大程度上是未知的。对这些植物进行药理学和毒理学研究是每个国家的优先事项之一。因此，本研究的目的是评估大戟属植物根提取物对感染伯氏疟原虫的小鼠的抗疟活性。
新鲜的大戟属植物根被鉴定并收集。将其干燥并通过 80%甲醇的浸渍法提取。使用雌性瑞士白化病小鼠进行提取物的急性毒性试验。使用氯喹敏感的伯氏疟原虫进行提取物的 4 天抑制性试验来评估抗疟活性。25 只雄性瑞士白化病小鼠被随机分为 5 组，每组 5 只。第 I 组用蒸馏水（10ml/kg）处理，第 II、III 和 IV 组分别用 200、400 和 600mg/kg 的提取物处理，第 V 组用氯喹（25mg/kg）处理。用寄生虫血症水平、存活时间和体重变化来确定提取物的抗疟活性。使用方差分析（ANOVA）和 Tukey 检验对数据进行分析。
在 2000mg/kg 时，植物提取物没有表现出任何毒性和死亡率的迹象。在 4 天的化学抑制性抗疟活性中，200、400 和 600mg/kg 提取物分别产生了 66.87%（P<0.001）、84.94%（P<0.001）和 93.69%（P<0.001）的活性，与蒸馏水处理组相比。与用 200mg/kg 提取物处理的小鼠相比，用 400mg/kg（P<0.01）和 600mg/kg 提取物处理的小鼠表现出显著的化学抑制性抗疟活性变化。用 600mg/kg 提取物处理的小鼠的存活时间显著（P<0.001）长于用蒸馏水处理的小鼠。然而，提取物对小鼠体重没有产生任何显著影响。
从这项研究可以得出结论，大戟属植物的根表现出非常好的 4 天化学抑制性抗疟活性。该植物可能含有与治疗疟疾相关的生物活性化合物。因此，需要进一步进行植物化学、毒理学和药理学研究，以评估其抗疟潜力。
