THE CURATIVE ANTIPLASMODIAL ACTIVITY OF HYDROALCOHOLIC EXTRACT OF KHAYA GRANDIFOLIA IN MICE

THE CURATIVE ANTIPLASMODIAL ACTIVITY OF HYDROALCOHOLIC EXTRACT OF KHAYA GRANDIFOLIA IN MICE

CHAPTER ONE

1.1       INTRODUCTION

Medicinal plants are of great importance to the health of individuals and the society. The medicinal value of these plants lies in some chemical substances that produce a definite physiological action on the human body (Edeoga and Gomina, 2000).Plants as sources of remedy for many diseases date back to the early century (Karouet al., 2005). In Africa, particularly West Africa, new drugs are often beyond the reach of the poor. Hence, upto 80% o the population use medicinal plants as remedy against infections and diseases (Kirby, 1996; Hostettmann and Maston, 2002).

Treatment offered by traditional healers is primary health care that has sustained the Nigerian community before and after colonization and the medicinal plants used by African traditional healers are selected not on the basis of their chemical constituent, but on their perceived ability to restored patients disease condition to normal.

The use of plants as curative antiplasmodial or antibacterial agents is gradually attracting attention probably due to the high cost, unavailability and resistance of the drugs. Medicinal plants contain numerous biologically active compounds such as nutrients and phytochemicals which have physiological actions on the human body (Edeoga et al., 2005; Olowokudejo et al., 2008). The inherent active ingredients are used to cure disease or relieve pain (Okigbo et al., 2008).

Khayagrandifoliola family Meliaceae (also called African mahogany, Benin Mahogany, Large-leaved Mahogany, or Senegal Mahogany) is a species of plant in the Meliaceae family. It is found in Benin, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria, Sudan, Togo and Uganda.

The aqueous extract of K. grandifoliola is used in traditional certain in Nigeria as remedy against convulsion, cough, stomach ache, fever, threatened abortion, rheumatism, dermatomycosis and malaria fever in Nigeria (Odugbemi et al., 2007; Olowokudejo et al., 2008).The anti malarial activity of the stem bark was also reported (Agbedahunsi et al., 1998). The stem bark was also found to possess anti-ulcer property (Njifutie and Njikam,2006), anti anaemic (Adeyemi and Gbilade, 2006), hypoglycaemic, hypoproteinaemic and hypocholesterolaemic effects (Bumahet al., 2005). Some of the chemical constituents reported include limonoids (Zhang et al., 2008).  This present study is necessitate to ascertain the curative antiplasmodial activity of hydroalcoholic extract of kharagrandifolia in mice.

1.2       STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS

A major problem associated with the chemotherapy of malaria is drug resistance. Plasmodium parasites soon develop resistance to new drugs, once released for widespread use. This leads to the need for exploiting the curative antiplasmodial activity of hydroalcoholic extract of Khaya grandifolia. However, currently available combination therapy for treatment of Malaria and the like is expensive beyond what the average African rural dweller can afford10. One reason for this is the cost of importing either finished drug products or raw materials from outside the continent. Studies have shown that increasing access to life saving artemisinine based combination therapy in endemic areas is critical in the control and reduction of malaria transmission11 . The present study shows evaluation of antimalarial activity of locally grown Artemisia annua in Langtang South area of Plateau State against Plasmodium berghei and the phytochemical screening of the leaf extract in order to discover the efficacy, phytochemical content of the herbal based medicine.

1.3       Aims and Objectives Of The Study

Aim

The Aim of this study is to determine the curative antiplasmodial activity of hydroalcoholic extract of Khaya grandifolia

Objective

1. To identify the phytochemical characteristics of the khayagrandifolia extract
2. Evaluate the effect of crude extract and solvent fractions on the mice
3. Determine the curative effect of crude extract
4. To determine the prophylactic effect of the Khayagrandifolia extract

1.4       justification of the study

In Africa and Nigeria in particular Khayagrandifolia is one of the traditional medicinal plants commonly used for the treatment of a number of illnesses, the leave juice is used to treat fever and headache, treatment of paralysis, michi, and external wounds, while the root is used for abdominal pain and ascariasis. Its flowers have been combined with other herbals for topical treatment of alopecia, wounds, and eczema etc, but this has not been proved scientifically. Nevertheless, the effectiveness, consistency, and efficacy of Khayagrandifoliafor the curative antiplasmodial activity have not been scientifically proven. To promote its traditional use in the treatment of various sickness, scientific evaluation of its curative antiplasmodial activity in mice model is thus justified.