Evaluation of Antimalarial Potential of Extracts from and in -Infected Mice.

Extracts of and are used in herbal medicine for the treatment of malaria. This work investigated the phytochemical, antioxidant, and antimalarial effects of hydromethanolic extracts of and . A four-day chemosuppressive test was conducted to assess the ability of the extracts to prevent establishment of infection. Three doses of the extracts were administered-100, 200, and 400 mg/kg bw-prior to challenge. Change in body weight, parasitemia, packed cell volume (PCV), and mean survival time was determined. A three-day curative test was also carried out on -infected mice to determine the effects of the plant extracts (200 mg/kg bw) on parasitemia and biochemical indices of liver and kidney functions, lipid metabolism, and oxidative stress. The study revealed that the extracts possessed phenolic compounds (34.13 ± 1.90 mg GAE/g for and 27.99 ± 1.46 mg GAE/g for ) and flavonoids (19.47 ± 1.89 mg QE/g for and 18.24 ± 1.36 mg QE/g for ). antioxidant activity measured as total antioxidant power, total reducing power, and DPPH radical scavenging activity showed that the extracts possessed higher antioxidant activity than the reference compounds. The outcome of the chemosuppressive test revealed that whereas -infected mice had high parasitemia, decreased mean survival time, exhibited loss of weight, and had low PCV, treatment with the extracts reversed the effects in a concentration-dependent manner. Similarly, the curative test revealed that the extracts significantly suppressed parasitemia compared with the malaria negative control group. This was mirrored by reversal of indices of hepatic toxicity (AST, ALT, and ALP levels), nephropathy (urea and creatinine levels), oxidative stress (SOD, CAT, GPx, GSH, and lipid peroxides), and dyslipidemia (TC, HDL, and TG levels and HMG-CoA reductase activity) in infected but treated mice compared with negative control. Put together, the results of this study demonstrate that the extracts of and possess antimalarial properties and are able to ameliorate metabolic dysregulations that characterize infection. The phytoconstituents in these extracts are believed to be responsible for the pharmacological activity reported in this study.