Phytochemical screening and in vivo antimalarial effects of ethanol extract and fractions of Sphenostylis sternocarpa seed (Ex A. Rich.) (Fabaceae)

Abstract

Malaria remains the leading cause of death in sub- Saharan Africa. Although recent development such as malaria vaccine trials inspires optimism, the search for novel antimalarial drugs is urgently needed to control the mounting resistance of plasmodium species to the available therapies. The extract of the seed was subjected to acute toxicity test and phytochemical testing. The extract (50-200 mg/kg) was screened for antimalarial prophylactic and curative activities against P. berghei infected mice using standard method. The prophylactic and curative activity tests were repeated for the fractions of the extract. The Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, glycosides, tannins, starch, flavonoids, saponins and steroids. The acute toxicity test of the extract showed no lethality. The ethanol extract/fractions of Sphenostylis sternocarpa seed exerted a dose dependent curative effect against Plasmodium berghei malaria parasite with the highest being the 100 mg/kg ethyl acetate fraction (93.75%) closely followed by 100 mg/kg butanol fraction (90.23%). The extract and fractions except 50 mg/kg n-hexane fraction exhibited significant difference at p