Preliminary in vivo antimalarial screening of petroleum ether, chloroform and methanol extracts of fifteen plants grown in Nigeria

Fifteen plants were screened for in vivo antimalarial activity in albino mice. The plants are Mormodica balsamina, Artemisia maciverae, Xylopia aethiopica, Cyperus articulatus, Guiera senegalensis. Syzygium aromaticum, Zingiber officinale, Thonningea sanguinea, Sorghum sp., Securinega virosa B, Chrozophora senegalensis, Feretia apodanthera, Diospyrous mespiltformis, Centaturea perrottetti and Acacia nilotica Del. The petroleum ethar, chloroform and methanol extracts from the various parts of the plants were screened for in vivo antimalarial activity in mice experimentally infected with Plasmodium berghei. Three days after inducing the malaria, the plant extracts were administered intraperitoneally to the mice daily for four days, while chloroquine was used as a standard drug control. Parasitaemia was monitored microscopically in all the groups for four days using thick and thin blood films obtained from tail vein of each mouse. At the end of this study, it was observed that the chloroform extracts of Artemisia maciverae (whole plant), Xylopia aethiopica (fruits) and Acacia nilotica Del (Leaves) have antimalarial activity. The methanol extracts of Syzygium aromanticum (cloves) and Zingiber officinale (tuber stem) showed slight antimalarial activity, while the rest of the plant extracts earlier listed showed no noticeable activity. These results suggest that many plants used as recipes in ethnomedical preparation for malaria, have no direct antimalarial activity. © 2008 Academic Journals Inc.