Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 3.0

Phyllantus amarus (Schum. and Thonn): An Antiplasmodial Plant

R. N. Nwaoguikpe, C. O. Ujowundu, W. Braide, J. Obi

Journal of Advances in Medicine and Medical Research · pp. 5494–5508 · Published 30 Jul 2014

10.9734/BJMMR/2014/7463

Abstract

The incidence of malaria infestation has assumed epidemic status and treatment procedures have failed to yield required results due to resistance of most Plasmodial species to conventional antimalarial drugs especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Phyllantus amarus (Schum and Thonn) was screened for in vivo antiplasmodial activity in albino mice. Ethanol and aqueous extracts (ETOHE and AE) were used for the assays. Phytochemical screening of the ethanol and aqueous extracts of the aerial parts of the plant was carried out to ascertain the secondary metabolites present. Chloroquine resistant Plasmodium berghei (NK65) was injected into the mice by passaging. Forty-eight hours after inducing malaria infestation, the plant extracts were administered intraperitoneally for 4 days at a dose of 10mg/kg,same with the reference antimalarials. It was observed that the ethanol extract (ETOHE) showed the highest antiplasmodial activity comparable to that of Artemether (Group C) treated mice. There was no significant difference in antimalaria activity between the Artemether treated (Group C) and the ethanol treated (Group A) mice at p=0.01. The antiplasmodial activities of the extracts may be attributed to the presence of phytochemicals/secondary metabolites present in the aerial parts of the plant which include: alkaloids, saponins, flavonods and other secondary metabolites. The plant extracts were equally screened for their mineral contents, some of which were found to be abundant, such as Ca, Fe, Mn, K, Na, Cu and Zn. The plant extracts can be used for the treatment of malaria infestation as well the supplementation of mineral nutrients in health and disease.

Antiplasmodials Phyllantus amarus albino mice Plasmodium berghei Plasmodium falciparum.

References (31)

  1. 1 Official Methods of Analysis of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists [DOI]
  2. 2 Evolutionary and Historical Aspects of the Burden of Malaria [DOI]
  3. 3 History of Human Parasitology [DOI]
  4. 4 Big Bang in the Evolution of Extant Malaria Parasites [DOI]
  5. 5 HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor from Phyllanthus niruri [DOI]
  6. 6 Targeting the Hemozoin Synthesis Pathway for New Antimalarial Drug Discovery: Technologies for In Vitro β-Hematin Formation Assay [DOI]
  7. 7 Plasmodium dominicana n. sp. (Plasmodiidae: Haemospororida) from Tertiary Dominican amber [DOI]
  8. 8 Genetic control of resistance to human malaria [DOI]
  9. 9 Inhibition of hepatitis C virus replication by herbal extract: Phyllanthus amarus as potent natural source [DOI]
  10. 10 Antiplasmodial activity of botanical extracts against Plasmodium falciparum [DOI]
  11. 11 Identification of Plasmodium malariae, a Human Malaria Parasite, in Imported Chimpanzees [DOI]
  12. 12 Four New Species of Plasmodium from New Guinea Lizards: Integrating Morphology and Molecules [DOI]
  13. 13 Antiplasmodial activity of extracts of Tridax procumbens and Phyllanthus amarus in in vitro Plasmodium falciparum culture systems.
  14. 14 Protective effects of Phyllanthus amarus aqueous extract against renal oxidative stress in Streptozotocin -induced diabetic rats [DOI]
  15. 15 Solving the Sisyphean Problem of Malaria in Zanzibar [DOI]
  16. 16 Comparison of capillary and venous blood using blood film microscopy in the detection of malaria parasites: A hospital based study [DOI]
  17. 17 Quantitative determination of phyllanthin in Phyllanthus amarus by high- performance thin layer chromatography
  18. 18 Preliminary in vivo Antimalarial Screening of Petroleum Ether, Chloroform and Methanol Extracts of Fifteen Plants Grown in Nigeria [DOI]
  19. 19 Mosquitoes as Potential Bridge Vectors of Malaria Parasites from Non-Human Primates to Humans [DOI]
  20. 20 Antibacterial activity of ethanolic extracts of Phyllanthus amarus against extended spectrum -lactamase producing Escherichia coli isolated from stool samples of HIV sero-positive patients with or without diarrhoea [DOI]
  21. 21 Effects ofPhyllanthus amaruson the pharmacokinetics of midazolam and cytochrome P450 activities in rats [DOI]
  22. 22 Experimental Induction of Chloroquine Resistance in Plasmodium berghei NK65 [DOI]
  23. 23 Analgesic activity of aqueous leaf extract of Phyllanthus amarus.
  24. 24 Immobilization mediated enhancement of phyllanthin and hypophyllanthin from Phyllanthus amarus [DOI]
  25. 25 Observations on the Sporozoite Transmission of Plasmodium vivax to Monkeys [DOI]
  26. 26 Functions of Dehydrogenases in Health and Disease [DOI]
  27. 27 Malaria and Working Performance of Academic Staff in a Nigerian University
  28. 28 Phytochemical screening and the effects of aqueous extracts of Phyllanthus amarus leaves on the lipid profile and cardiac muscle cyclic guanosine monophosphate of male Guinea pigs [DOI]
  29. 29 Malaria in England: a geographical and historical perspective.
  30. 30 History of Human Parasitology [DOI]
  31. 31 Researches on thalassemia and malaria in Italy and the origins of the "Haldane hypothesis".

Cited by 0

No indexed citations yet.

Related research

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

67

Page views

0

PDF downloads

26

Outbound clicks

0

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.