Nigeria is one of the
malaria-endemic countries, where the treatment of malaria has relied heavily on
natural and traditional medicines. This study was designed to investigate and
ascertain the preference of Eucalyptus camaldulensis in treating malaria
using three standard models among local herbalists. Extraction was carried out on the leaves of Eucalyptus camadulensis usingmethanol. The methanol crude
extract and other solvent fractions obtainedwere used for analysis. An acute toxicity test (LD50) was carried out
using Lorke’s Method. The extract and its fractions were
screened for phytochemical constituents using standard procedures. Different
doses of the methanol crude extract (250
mg/kg, 500 mg/kg, and 1000 mg/kg) and other solvent fractions (250 mg/kg,
500 mg/kg) were assessed for their antiplasmodial property using the Suppressive, Curative, and Prophylactic
models on different days. One hundred and eighty grams (18% w/w) of the
extract were recovered from 1000g of powdered leaves. The
weight of fractions and their yields calculated from 50g crude
extract are n-hexane fraction (3.45g,
6.9%), ethylacetate fraction (11.65g, 23.3%), and butanol (7.84g, 15.68%). The result of
the acute toxicity test showed that the lethal dose of the plant was above 5000
mg/kg. For the crude extract, the 1000 mg/kg
dose had the highest percentage of parasitemia suppression of 97.3%,
95.30%, and 75.97% in the curative, suppressive, and prophylactic models,
respectively. The fractions exhibited a significant chemosuppressive effect
when compared with the negative control, with the butanol fraction (500 mg/kg)
showing a higher percentage suppression. The findings in this study justify the
use of this plant in traditional medicine for the management of malaria fever
and tally with its folkloric use.
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