Effect of Alstonia Boonei and Annona Senegalensis Combination on Histopathological Damages Caused by Plasmodium Berghei in the Liver of Infected Albino Mice

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.