The antiplasmodial activity of Anogeissus leiocarpus and its effect on oxidative stress and lipid profile in mice infected with Plasmodium bergheii

Abstract

Methanolic extracts of Anogeissus leiocarpus has been considered locally to have the same antimalarial activities as artemisinin derivatives. This work studied the in vivo antiplasmodial activity of methanolic extracts of A. leiocarpus and its effect on oxidative stress and lipid profile in mice infected with Plasmodium bergheii. Mice used for this study were divided into five groups; four of the groups were infected with P. bergheii. The first group was not infected with the parasite. The second group was infected with parasite but not treated with antimalarial drugs (negative control). The third group was infected and treated with artesunat at 5 mg/kg body weight (positive control), while the fourth and fifth groups were infected and treated with 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight of extract of stem bark of A. leiocarpus, respectively. The rate of parasite clearance was higher in the group treated with 200 mg/kg body weight of extract of A. leiocarpus when compared with the groups treated with artesunat. Malondialdehyde (MDA) level was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the serum of negative control as compared with other groups which have received treatment. MDA level was moderately higher in the liver homogenates of infected mice treated with artesunat than in other groups. There were significant increases (P < 0.05) in the levels of serum and liver superoxide dismutase of infected mice treated with 200 mg/kg body weight of A. leiocarpus when compared with other groups. Serum low density lipoprotein, total triglyceride, and total cholesterol were moderately higher in the group treated with artesunat than other groups, while high density lipoprotein (HDL) level was higher in the two groups treated with A. leiocarpus as compared with the group treated with artesunat. This study shows that the methanolic extract of A. leiocarpus has high antimalarial activities, high antioxidant property, and capable of boosting HDL level in malaria-infected organisms.

Antiplasmodial Activity of Methanolic Leaf Extract of Anogeisus leiocarpus and its Effect on Heart and Liver of Mice Infected with Plasmodium berghei

“…A.leiocarpus is one of the medicinal herbs that is commonly use for treatment of malaria infection in Africa. Some studies have reported the efficacy of the methanolic stem bark extract of this plant, and it has been confirmed that it has antimalarial activity [7,5]. There is also a need to study the antiplasmodial activity of methanolic leaf extract of A. leiocarpus since both leaf and stem back of this plant have been considered to be potent for the treatment of malaria infection locally.…”

“…Each group comprised of five mice. The first and sixth groups were not infected with the parasite and were used for normal and extract control respectively, while the other four groups were infected intraperitoneally with an aliquot of 0.2 ml of standard inoculums (1x10 7 Plasmodium berghei strain NK 65 parasitized erythrocytes). Among the four infected groups, group 2 was not treated with antimalarial (negative control), group 3 was treated with 16.0 mg/kg body weight of artemether (positive control) while the fourth and fifth groups were infected and treated with 100 mg/kg body weight and 200 mg/kg body weight of methanolic leaf extract of Anogeissus leiocarpus respectively.…”

“…The use of medicinal herbs has been a common method of treating malaria among the people living in malaria endemic areas [5,6]. This practice has also been part of Nigeria culture especially in the rural areas where they do not have access to the good hospitals and most people living in these areas are peasant farmers who cannot afford to buy antimalarial drugs which are highly potent [7,8]. At present, most people who live in urban areas in Nigeria are sometimes prefer to use the medicinal plants for the treatment of malaria as a result of emergency of resistance of malaria parasites to antimalarial drugs.…”

“…At present, most people who live in urban areas in Nigeria are sometimes prefer to use the medicinal plants for the treatment of malaria as a result of emergency of resistance of malaria parasites to antimalarial drugs. Some of the medicinal plants used for treatment of malaria in Nigeria include, Terminalia avicennioides, Anogeissus leiocarpus, Morinda lucida, Citrus medica, Azadirachta indica [7].…”

Constituents of leaf, stem bark and root volatile oils of <i>Anogeissus leiocarpus</i> DC. Guill. & Perr.

“…The extract displayed high in vitro antiplasmodial activity, as well as low levels of cytotoxicity against K562S cells. Hence A. leiocarpus is good in treatment of malaria (Kabore et al, 2010;Akanbi et al, 2012). Methanol extract of A. leiocarpus was reported to have high antimalarial activity, high antioxidant property, and capable of boosting HDL level in Plasmodium bergheii-infected organisms (Akanbi et al, 2012).…”