Comparative efficacy of crude aqueous extract of Mangiferea indica, Carica papaya and sulphadoxine pyrimethamine on mice infested with malaria parasite in vivo.
Uhegbu F. O., Elekwa I., Ukoha C.
Author Affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biological and Physical Sciences, Abia State University, Uturu, Nigeria.
Global Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences 11 : 399-401
Abstract : The comparative efficacy of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (Maloxine) and leaf extracts of Mangifera indica (mango) and Carica papaya (paw-paw) was investigated in Plasmodium berghei-infected mice. Maloxine had the highest efficacy, reducing the parasite count from an average count of 9.4±0.04 to 1.4±0.05 after six days of treatment. The paw-paw leaf extract reduced the malaria parasite count from an average of 9.2±0.06 to 2.6±0.06; while the mango leaf extract showed an average reduction from 9.8±0.01 to 3.2±0.03 after six days of treatment. However, a combination of the two leaf extracts (1:1) exhibited a higher antimalaria efficacy than the separate leaf extracts, reducing the parasite count from 9.4±0.031 to 2.0±0.15. The public health implications of these findings are discussed.