Background: Resistance to most antimalarial drugs has encouraged the use of herbal preparations along with prescribed orthodox drugs.
Objective: this study investigated effect of co-administration of aqueous extract of
T. occidentalis
leaves, commonly used as antimalarial and haematinic agent in Nigeria, and artesunate using
P. berghei
animal model.
Methods: In vivo curative antiplasmodial effect of
T. occidentalis (200mg/kg) alone and in combination with artesunate (2mg/kg) were evaluated using albino mice infected with 106 parasitized erythrocytes of
P. berghei intraperitoneally. The haematological parameters: haemoglobin level, red blood cells and white blood cells and packed cell volume were monitored using standard methods.
Results: Aqueous extract of
T. occidentalis, artesunate and the combination gave 72.17±4.07%, 70.43± 4.27% and 85.43± 3.65% reduction in parasitaemia after 48hours respectively. A significant enhancement of the PCV was obtained with the co-administration of artesunate and aqueous extract (p < 0.01). Similar trends were also observed with heamatological parameters at 72 hours of administration.
Conclusion: This study revealed a synergistic effect of the co-administration on parasite clearance rate of
P. berghei infection in mice, with a significant enhancement of haematological parameters within 48 hours of administration. This indicates a rapid rate of recovery from plasmodial infections with the co-administration.
