In vitro and in vivo studies on anti-malarial activity of Commiphora africana and Dichrostachys cinerea used by the Maasai in Arusha region, Tanzania

• Published in: Malaria Journal
• Main Authors: Prisca A. Kweyamba, Denis Zofou, Noella Efange, Jules-Clement N. Assob, Jovin Kitau, Mramba Nyindo
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2019
• Subjects: Phytochemical screening; Commiphora africana; Dichrostachys cinerea; Antimalarial and cytotoxicity; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-019-2752-8; https://doaj.org/article/943a6c9774a14a148a5ba345b4de7acc

Abstract Background Traditional medicinal plants are one of the potential sources of anti-malarial drugs and there is an increasing interest in the use and development of traditional herbal remedies for the treatment of malaria and other ailments. This study was carried out with the aim to investigate the phytochemical screening, cytotoxic effect and antiplasmodial activities of Dichrostachys cinerea and Commiphora africana. Both plants are used by the Maasai in Tanzania in suspected malaria and other diseases. No previous work appears to have investigated the potential anti-malarial activity of the two plants. Methods This study aimed to investigate the in vitro anti-malarial activity of methanol and dichloromethane extracts of the two plants against chloroquine sensitive (D6) and chloroquine resistant (Dd2) strains of Plasmodium falciparum. The anti-malarial property was assessed by the lactate dehydrogenase method (pLDH). The in vivo anti-malarial study was carried out using the Peters’ 4-day suppressive test in Plasmodium berghei in Balb/c mice. Cytotoxic tests were carried out using monkey kidney epithelial cell line in [3(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] (MTT) assay. Qualitative phytochemical screening was carried out using standard methods of analysis. Results The phytochemical screening of plant extracts revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, steroids, triterpenoids, glycosides and saponins. However, alkaloids were absent in most plant extracts. The dichloromethane extracts of C. africana (stem bark); D. cinerea (stem bark) and methanol extracts of D. cinerea (whole stem) all showed promising in vitro anti-malarial activities. All other extracts did not show any significant anti-malarial activity. The two most promising extracts based on in vitro studies, DCM extracts of C. africana (stem bark) and D. cinerea (stems bark), equally exhibited very significant anti-malarial activities in the mouse model. They exhibited parasite suppression rates of 64.24 and ...