ABSTRACT
Based on ethnophannacological studies, Makahiya (Mimosa pudica L.) root extract is used by the Dumagat tribe to treat malaria. However, no scientific study has been conducted to confirm the anti-malarial property of Makahiya root extractAfter successful inoculation with Plasmodium-infected blood, 30 BalB-C mice consisting of 15 males and 15 females were randomly assigned to receive distilled water, pure root extract, 10.2 diluted root extract, 10.1 diluted root extract and quinine sulfate suspension. Treatments were administered using oral gavage method on an 8-hour interval for 6 consecutive days. Parasitemia was monitored by microscopic examination of Giemsa-stained blood smears taken at the end of each treatment dayBaseline parasitemia levels of the five treatment groups showed no significant difference when subjected to one-way ANOVA. When graphed, all three groups treated with Makahiya root extract appear to be parallel with one another, and showed a slightly increasing trend with slopes of 1.475, 1.4893 and 1.5771 for the treatment groups receiving pure extract, 10-1 ldilution and 10-2 dilution, respectivelyThe negative control group demonstrated a steadily increasing graph, with a slope of 14.25. The group treated with quinine, on the other hand, showed a steadily decreasing graph with a slope of 4.8911One population t-test revealed that a significant difference exists between the slopes of the three makahiya treatment groups. It also revealed a significant difference between the slopes of the three Makahiya groups and distilled water. A significant difference also exists between quinine and the three Makahiya treatment groups using the same testsThe presence of a significant difference between water and the three Makahiya treatment groups shows that Makahiya has an anti-malarial effect. However, the anti-malarial effect is not the same as quinine as shown by a significant difference between the Makahiya and quinine