Antimalarial test data

Background Malaria, despite progresses, is still causing huge number of
malaria cases and deaths. Successful control of this disease demands the
availability of drugs with high efficacy and minimal toxicity. In addition
to modern medicines, traditional medicinal plants have long been used for
managing malaria. However, many of these medicinal plants are not
scientifically validated. Objective This study was conducted to assess the
invivo antimalarial activity of Zehneria scabra, against Plasmodium
berghei in swiss albino mice. Materials and methods Maceration technique
has been used to extract the plant, and four doses of the extract ranging
from 25-150 mg/kg were used. Tween 80 was used as negative control, and
chloroquine was used a standard drug. The level of parasitemia and
malaria-related variations including, packed cell volume, survival time,
temperature and body weight were measured, and these records were used to
weigh the extract-treated groups against both controls. Results The
extract was found to have a significant parasite suppression in both
four-day suppressive and Rane’s models (p<0.001), as well as in
prophylactic model at 100 mg/kg and 150 mg/kg (P<0.001). In line
with this parasitemia reduction, the doses 100 mg/kg and 150 mg/kg in the
four-day suppressive test, and 150 mg/kg in Rane’s test had significant
(p<0.05) effect in prolonging survival time. While reduction in
packed cell volume was prevented in all models at doses of 100 mg/kg and
150 mg/kg (p<0.05), temperature decline was lessened at 100 mg/kg
and 150 mg/kg in four-day suppressive model, and at 150 mg/kg in Rane’s
model (p<0.05). Conclusion The antimalarial activity found in this
study confirm the traditional use and invitro antimalarial effect of the
plant, and if studied further, it may produce active constituent(s) that
can be used as a lead compound (s) against malaria.