ABSTRACT
The possible hepatotoxic effects of chloroform extract of Artemisia maciverae was evaluated biochemically and histologically using male Swiss albino rats, randomly assigned into four groups of 24 animals each. The groups (control, 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight) were treated for 60 days and then monitored for another 30 days before sacrifice. Alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, bilirubin (total and direct), total protein and albumin were assessed colorimetrically, while tissue specimens were subjected to histological examination following standard hematoxyline-eosin staining techniques. After 1 week of treatment, the extract caused statistically significant elevation in levels of serum alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase and bilirubin (total and direct), while there was significant (p < 0.05) decrease in the levels of serum total protein and albumin at the onset of treatment when compared with the control. These abnormalities in the levels of serum biochemical parameters were spontaneously corrected within 2 weeks of treatment. Similarly, histological assessment showed severe hepatic tissue injuries after 1 week, but these organs recovered spontaneously by the second week of treatment. The results indicate that long-term exposure to therapeutic doses of chloroform extract of A maciverae is relatively safe, but high dose exposure may result in hepatocellular injury.
Subject(s)
Antimalarials/toxicity , Artemisia/chemistry , Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury/pathology , Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury/physiopathology , Liver/drug effects , Plant Extracts/toxicity , Animals , Antimalarials/administration & dosage , Antimalarials/isolation & purification , Body Weight/drug effects , Chloroform/chemistry , Diet , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Liver/pathology , Liver/physiopathology , Male , Nigeria , Organ Size/drug effects , Plant Extracts/administration & dosage , Plant Extracts/isolation & purification , Random Allocation , Rats , Risk Assessment , Time FactorsABSTRACT
In the search for new plant-derived anti-malarial compounds, chromatographic fractions of chloroform extract of whole plants of Artemisia maciverae were tested in vivo using chloroquine resistant and chloroquine sensitive Plasmodium berghei NK 65 infected Swiss albino mice. One fraction and a sub-fraction of this were most active at 10/mg and cleared parasitemia in mice within 3 days. The different fractions and sub-fractions were tested with different reagents to determine the broad classes of compounds present. The active fraction tested positive for triterpenes and alkaloids, and the sub-fraction for only triterpenes. These tests suggest that the anti-malarial activities observed with these fractions may be due to these classes of compounds in the chloroform extract of the A. maciverae. Further chemical work is however required to characterize the active constituents.
Subject(s)
Antimalarials/isolation & purification , Antimalarials/therapeutic use , Artemisia/chemistry , Malaria/drug therapy , Plant Extracts/isolation & purification , Plant Extracts/therapeutic use , Plasmodium berghei/drug effects , Alkaloids/analysis , Animals , Antimalarials/chemistry , Biological Assay/methods , Chloroform , Chromatography, Liquid/methods , Humans , Mice , Parasitemia/drug therapy , Plant Extracts/chemistry , Solvents , Triterpenes/analysisABSTRACT
Petroleum ether, chloroform and methanol extracts of A. maciverae were studied in vitro and in vivo for activity against Trypanosoma brucei brucei in Swiss albino mice. Thereafter, the chloroform extract which showed the highest activity in both in vitro and in vivo assessments was subjected to bioassay-guided fractionation. The crude extracts and the fractions of the chloroform extract of A. maciverae were screened for phytochemicals and secondary metabolites. Combined fractions 54-57 of this extract showed the highest in vitro antitrypanosomal activity, and at 10 mg/kg body weight, this fraction cleared the parasitemia completely from T. brucei brucei infected Swiss albino mice after 7 days of treatment. There was no statistically significant difference in the level of parasitemia when the infected mice treated with this fraction was compared with the standard trypanocidal drug, diminal. The results of the phytochemical analysis showed that the crude extracts contained secondary metabolites like flavonoids, triterpenes, terpenoids, tannins, phlobatannins and alkaloids, while the active fraction contains only triterpenes and alkaloids. It can be inferred that fraction 54-57 contains the active component responsible for the high antitrypanosomal activity of the chloroform extract of A. maciverae.
