In Vivo Evaluation of Anti-Malarial Activity of Three Medicinal Plants Used in South Eastern Nigeria

Aqueous extracts of the stem bark, fruit pericarp, seeds, and leaves of Pentaclethra macrophylla Benth.; the leaves of Phyllanthus niruri L.; and the leaves of Euphorbia hirta L. were tested for anti-plasmodial activity using albino mice. The stem bark, fruit pericarp, seed, and leaves of P. macrophylla showed no antimalarial activity, even at high doses of 100 mg/kg of body weight, whereas P. niruri and E. hirta demonstrated significant (p < . 05) antiplasmodial activity in mice at a low dose of 30 mg/kg body weight. The percentage reduction of parasitemia exhibited by P. nururi was significantly higher (p < .05) than the reduction after treatment with E. hirta, and relatively comparable to reductions observed with that of chloroquine. Mean survival time of the infected mice treated with P. niruri was higher than that of similar mice treated with the other extracts. This study infers that extracts of P. niruri and E. hirta can be used by local communities of South Eastern Nigeria to treat malaria.