Evaluation of Antimalarial Activity of <i>Senna alata</i> and Influence on Hepatic Caspase‐3 and Nuclear Factor Keppa B

Malaria remains a major global health concern due to failing chemotherapy. This necessitates the continuous search for more effective antimalarial agents. This study investigates the potential antimalarial activity of Senna alata, a herb commonly used in the Nigerian tradomedicine system, and its impact on hepatic oxidative damage and expression of caspase-3 and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) molecules. Thirty mice, divided into 6 groups (n = 5/group), were used for the study. Group 1 served as the negative control and received 0.2 mL of normal saline. Groups 2-4 constituted the test groups, which received doses of 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg of the leaf ethanol extract of Senna alata (EESa), respectively. Group 5 served as the standard drug control that received 20 mg/kg of LonartDS (artemether-lumefantrine). Group 6, the naïve group, were neither infected nor treated (NINT). Mice were treated for 4 consecutive days after confirming parasitaemia following inoculation. At the end of the 6th day post treatment, the animals were euthanized, and then blood samples and liver tissues were collected for analysis using documented methods and standard procedures. Results of the malaria curative test for Plasmodium berghei (NK 65) in murine model indicated that EESa significantly suppressed parasitaemia in treated groups, although not in a dose-dependent manner, but values compared well with the standard drug treatment and EESa also improved the mean survival time (MST) and haematological indices of infected mice. Furthermore, EESa significantly reduced the hepatic expression of caspase-3 and NF-κB p65 molecules, suggesting its potential involvement in regulating apoptosis and inflammation in hepatic cells, as evidenced by the associated low histological grading. Put together, the demonstrated antimalarial activity of EESa protected the liver from the inflammatory and apoptotic damages caused by malarial infection in experimental mice. This study supports the use of S. alata in the traditional treatment of malaria.