| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5835307 | Journal of Ethnopharmacology | 2016 | 6 Pages |
Ethnopharmacological relevanceCrude extracts from the leaves of Ocimum suave Willd (Lamiaceae) and the root barks of Plectranthus barbatus Andrews (Lamiaceae) and Zanthoxylum chalybeum Engl. (Rutaceae) were studied to ascertain the ethnopharmacological standing of their antimalarial usage in Kenyan folk medicine.Materials and methodsAqueous and Chloroform: Methanol (1:1) extracts of the plants were used in this study. Toxicity of the extracts was investigated by using brine shrimp lethality test and acute oral toxicity in mice. The antimalarial activity at a dose of 100Â mg/kg was screened in Swiss albino mice against chloroquine sensitive Plasmodium berghei (D6) using Peters 4-day suppressive test. Chloroquine, at a dosage rate of 20Â mg/kg was used as a reference drug.ResultsThe extracts showed some signs of acute toxicity in the brine shrimp lethality test. However, no signs of toxicity were observed in the mice at a dose of 2000Â mg/kg of the crude extracts. The results revealed that all the tested crude extracts were safe. Z. chalybeum aqueous extract and P. barbatus organic extract showed chemosuppressive activities of 81.45% and 78.69%, respectively. This antimalarial activity was not significantly different from that of chloroquine (P<0.05).ConclusionThe findings suggest that the Kenyan folkloric medicinal application of these plants has a pharmacological basis. Bioactivity guided fractionation and isolation of bioactive molecules from the two species could lead to new hits against Plasmodium falciparum malaria.
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