In vitro Aantimalarial Activity of the Extracts of Vernonia amygdalina Commonly Used In Traditional Medicine In Nigeria

Malaria is one of the most important of infectious diseases in the tropics and sub-tropics. The search for antimalarial compounds has been necessitated by P. falciparum resistance to almost all antimalarial drugs. In this study, the in vitro antimalarial activities of the aqueous and ethanolic crude extracts of Vernonia amygdalina, a plant used by traditional healers to treat malaria and other diseases, was evaluated against 14 fresh isolates of P. falciparum from Damboa, Borno State, Nigeria. Acute toxicity test and antiinflammatory activity of the extracts were also determined. There was a significant inhibition in schizont maturation relative to control (P = 0.05). Ethanolic extract exhibited higher antimalarial activity of 78.10 %, IC50 of 11.2 μg/ml and aqueous extract had an activity of 74.02 %, IC50 of 13.6 μg/ml. Both extracts showed moderate antimalarial activity. The extracts exhibited negligible toxicity in rats and showed a good measure of anti-inflammatory activity. This result justifies the traditional use of the plant in malaria treatment. Further work is suggested to isolate, identify and characterize the active principles from the plant.