Parasitology

Biography

Biography: Ngele Kalu Kalu

Abstract

Ilex kudingcha leaf extracted with methanol, chloroform and a combination of methanol with chloroform was investigated for its in vivo activity against Trypanosoma brucei brucei, the causative agent of African animal trypanosomiasis in Sub-Saharan Africa was tested on Swiss albino rats infected with I. brucei brucei. The leave extracts were administered 3 days post infection at peak parasitaemia level of 104 trypanosomes per ml at doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg by oral administration once daily for 6 days. Parasitaemia, packed cell volume (PCV), mean survival time and change in body weight were used as indices for monitoring the efficacy of the extracts by comparing with the positive control (2 ml of diaminazene aceturate) and negative control (water treated group). The extracts of methanol and combination of methanol with chloroform had a lethal dose greater than 2000 mg/kg. There was no evidence of acute toxicity at the doses tested. While the chloroform extract alone had no effect on the parasitaemia level on the Swiss albino rats infected intraperitoneally with I. bruceibrucei parasites. Highly significant (p>0.001) reduction in pretreatment parasitaemia by 13.66±4.91; increase in (PCV) by 12.00±0.57 were recorded. Body weight improvement by 177.73±7.51 and mean survival rate of 30.50±0.70 days were also observed in the groups treated with 400 mg/kg methanol and combinations of methanol with chloroform leaf extracts of Ilex kudingcha. There was a relapse of parasitaemia almost at the end of the work, which was due to trypanocidal drug resistance. The results obtained suggest pharmacological usefulness of I. kudingcha when extracted with methanol or combination of methanol with chloroform. The chloroform extract alone shows no reduction in parasitaemia against I. bruceibrucei, because it could not extract the active ingredient from the I. kudingcha which should act against the I. brucei brucei. A further study on the pharmacological importance of the plant is recommended.