ANTI-TRYPANOSOMAL EFFECTS O7F SOME SELECTED NIGERIAN MEDICINAL PLANTS

Treatments of African trypanosomiasis have been dependent on the use of synthetic drugs which have several drawbacks. This is compounded by the emergence of drug-resistant parasites. These limitations have craved the urgent need for novel drugs from non-synthetic sources such as plants. The study, therefore, was aimed at evaluating in vitro antitrypanosomal activity of crude leaf extracts (CLE) of Acalypha wilkesiana, Annona muricata, Calotropis procera, Hyptis sualovens, Momordica charantia, Artemisia annua, and Siphonochilus aethiopicus using Hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol as solvents. Extraction was carried out by Soxhlet extraction method and different concentrations (100 µg/ml to 0.049 µg/ml) of the selected plants were evaluated for antitrypanosomal activity against trypomastigotes stage of Trypanosoma brucei brucei S427 in 96 well plates. Bioassay of CLE was assessed using Alamar blue TM assay. Hyptis sualovens and M. charantia, displayed moderate activities against T. b. brucei S427 with an EC50 range of 11- 14 µg/ml. Poor activities (EC50 ranging between 19 - 53 µg/ml) were exhibited by all extracts of A. annua, A. wilkesiana, A. muricata, C. procera and H. suaveolens methanol extract when tested against the parasite. This finding confirms the efficacy of some of the plants that are used by local herdsmen in the treatment of animal trypanosomiasis.