The Efficacy of Herbal Medicine in the Treatment of Malaria in Owerri

This study was aimed at determining the efficacy of herbal medicine sold in Owerri in the treatment of malaria with specific intention to evaluate the anti-malarial and mortality dose response in albino mice. The study took place in the Glassblowing Unit of Science Laboratory Technology, Federal University of Technology Owerri Imo state. Two different herbal mixtures namely: Goko cleanser (S. acuta = 10%, T. procumbens = 15 %, A. boonei =35%, P. amarus = 25% and C. sinensis = 15%) and Green Health Herbal mixtures (P. amarus = 45%, N. laevis =10% and V. amygdalina = 55%) were used and a total of Forty four (44) mice, some already infected with Plasmodium berghei were purchased from the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Enugu state weighing 21.27-25.68 g. The animals were grouped into five. The 1st group represented the control (untreated mice with the parasite), the 2nd group was treated with the first herbal mixture (Goko cleanser), the 3rd group was treated with the 2nd herbal mixture (Green health herbal), while the last group was the positive control (healthy rat). Each group was contained four mice. Group A (control) received no medicine and they were infected, Group B was infected with P. berghei and regrouped into two (set I and II) containing two mice each. Set I was treated with 200 mg/L and set II was treated with 250 mg/L of the Goko herbal cleanser. Group C was also regrouped into two (Set III and IV) containing two mice each. Set III and set IV were infected with P. berghei and treated with 200 and 250 mg/L of the Green Health Herbal mixture respectively while group D were healthy mice. Extra Twenty eight (28) were also joined to the healthy control to conduct mortality dose response test. These animals were monitored for 0, 24, 48 and 72 hrs. Thirty two (32) mice were recruited for mortality dose response test. They were grouped into four based on the doses of herbal mixtures and each group contained 4 mice and each group had experimental set for herbal mixture A and B. The experimental animals were given 0.0 mg/L, 250 mg/L, 500 ml/L, and 1500 mg/L of the herbal mixtures and were routinely inspected for 5 days (24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 hrs.) for signs of toxicity and mortality such as tremors, weakness, restlessness, refusal to feed, falling off of hair, coma, or even death. The data collected were expressed as mean ± SD and subjected to ANOVA with Duncan Multiple Test by 2022 version of SPSS to obtain the LSD at confidence level of 95%. The result showed that % suppressive antimalarial effects of the herbal mixture for the control (100, 121, 142 and 158 %) increased, the herbal mixture A and B at the dose of 200 mg/L (100, 79.7, 66.1 and 51.5; 100, 80.7, 65.2 and 49.8 %) and at the dose of 250 mg/L (100, 85.9, 55.6 and 30%; 100, 76.8, 59.11 and 27.6 %) decreased as the time increased from 0-72 hrs. Consequently, doses of 250 mg/L (0-81%; 0-82.5%) of herbal A and B confer quicker and more efficacious % chemosuppressive effect than doses of 200 mg/L (0-67.4%; 0-68.7%) and at the doses of 500 mg/L (3 mice died) and 1500 mg/L (7 mice died). In conclusion, herbal B exhibited more antimalarial properties than A, although they did not differ significantly (P > 0.05). However, herbal medicine is anti-malarial in nature; an overdose of the mixture can be lethal.