In vivo antimalarial activities of extracts from Amaranthus spinosus L. and Boerhaavia erecta L. in mice

Extracts obtained from two Burkinabe folk medicine plants, spiny amaranth (Amaranthus spinosus L., Amaranthaceae) and erect spiderling (Boerhaavia erecta L., Nyctagynaceae) were screened for antimalarial properties with the aim of testing the validity of their traditional uses. The plant extracts showed significant antimalarial activities in the 4-day suppressive antimalarial assay in mice inoculated with red blood cells parasitized with Plasmodium berghei berghei. We obtained values for ED50 of 789 and 564 mg/kg for Amaranthus spinosus and Boerhaavia erecta extracts, respectively. Moreover the tested vegetal material showed only low toxicity (1450 and 2150 mg/kg as LD50 for Amaranthus spinosus and Boerhaavia erecta, respectively).