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Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the oral acute toxicity (LD50) of methanol extract of ischolar_main bark of Alstonia boonei, a medicinal plant used locally by the people of South East Nigeria to treat conditions like Malaria, Insomnia, Diarrhea and rheumatic pains. The study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, three groups of mice (4 per group) were given respective oral doses of 10mg, 100mg and 1000mg/kg body weight of the extract and observed, in 24hours, 72hours and up to four weeks. In the second phase, another three groups of mice (4 per group) were administered with increased doses of the extract 1600mg, 2900mg and 5000mg/kg weight). These were monitored as in the phase one study. It was observed that when the extract was administered up to a dose of 5000mg/kg body weight, no death was recorded among all the animals under investigation. Histological (H & E x400) examination of liver sections of animals showed relatively normal histological features (normal sinusoid with intact hepatic cytoarchitecture). It is thus concluded that administration of the extract to mice is safe at any dose less than or equal to 5000mg/kg body weight.

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Abstract

The effect of combined extracts of Alstonia boonei and Annona Senegalensis (two plants traditionally used in the treatment of malaria) on histopathological damages caused by plasmodium berghei on the liver of infected mice was studied.

Mice of both sexes (n = 30), weighing between 26 – 38g were inoculated with Chloroquine sensitive Plasmodium berghei infected erythrocytes, each mouse receiving about 1 x 10⁷P. berghei parasites. 72 hours after parasite inoculation, the animals were randomly distributed into five treatment groups, A – E (n = 5 each). Group A – C were treated with the herbal preparation at respective doses of 400mg/kg, 600mg/kg and 800mg/kg while groups D and E received 5mg/kg chloroquine and 5ml/kg normal saline respectively. Treatments lasted for five days. On the sixth day, the mice were sacrificed and liver samples fixed in 4% formaldehyde for histological study adopting H & E staining procedure. Animals treated with the herbal preparation showed relatively normal liver histological features similar to that of the animals treated with the standard drug (chloroquine). The untreated animals however, showed severe distruction of the hepatocytes with marked necrosis. These findings thus support our earlier observed antimalarial efficacy of the herbal preparation.

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