article · Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Malaria remains a critical global health challenge worsened by drug resistance, driving interest in plant-derived therapeutic agents. Cordia africana has traditionally been used to manage malaria in parts of Ethiopia. This investigation evaluated the safety and in vivo antimalarial activity of its leaf extracts and solvent fractions in mice infected with Plasmodium berghei. Oral acute toxicity testing established that the medium lethal dose exceeded 2000 mg/kg, indicating safety at the tested levels. In antimalarial assays, the crude leaf extract at 600 mg/kg achieved 51.19 percent suppression in a four-day test, 57.14 percent in a curative test, and 46.48 percent in a prophylactic test. Furthermore, the n-butanol fraction produced the highest chemosuppression at 55.62 percent at a dose of 400 mg/kg. These findings confirm the antimalarial efficacy of the plant, supporting its traditional use.
Rising resistance to existing antimalarial drugs poses a serious threat to global disease control, necessitating the discovery of new therapies. Validating indigenous herbal treatments through controlled laboratory studies provides vital evidence regarding their efficacy and safety. Demonstrating that Cordia africana extracts suppress malaria parasites in vivo supports its traditional medicinal usage and highlights its potential value as a starting point for drug discovery.
This work represents early-stage research that could interest natural product researchers and pharmaceutical development teams looking for novel antimalarial lead compounds. Potential applications include isolated active pharmaceutical ingredients or standardised botanical extracts. However, because the study is limited to rodent models and crude solvent fractions, it remains at a basic research level and requires extensive isolation, safety profiling, and clinical testing before any commercial pathway can be realised.
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Background . Malaria remains a major worldwide public health problem leading to death of millions of people. Spread and emergence of antimalarial drug resistance are the major challenge in malaria control. Medicinal plants are the key source of new effective antimalarial agents. Cordia africana (Lam.) is widely used for traditional management of malaria by local people in different parts of Ethiopia. The present study aimed to evaluate in vivo antimalarial effects of leaf extracts and solvent fractions of Cordia africana on Plasmodium berghei -infected mice. Methods . The leaf extracts were prepared and tested for oral acute toxicity according to the OECD guideline. In vivo antimalarial effects of various doses of C. africana extracts and solvent fractions were determined using the four-day suppression test (both crude and fractions), as well as curative and chemoprophylactic tests (crude extracts). Results . The acute toxicity test of the plant extract revealed that the medium lethal dose is higher than 2000 mg/kg. The crude extract of the plant exhibited significant parasitemia suppression in the four-day suppression (51.19%), curative (57.14%), and prophylactic (46.48%) tests at 600 mg/kg. The n -butanol fraction exhibited the highest chemosuppression (55.62%) at 400 mg/kg, followed by the chloroform fraction (45.04%) at the same dose. Conclusion . Our findings indicated that both the crude leaf extracts and fractions of C. africana possess antimalarial effects, supporting the traditional claim of the plant.
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DOI: 10.1155/2019/8324596
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