Antimalarial Activity of Cordia africana (Lam.) (Boraginaceae) Leaf Extracts and Solvent Fractions in Plasmodium berghei-Infected Mice

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.