In vivo antimalarial activity and acute, subacute and subchronic toxicity evaluation of a polyherbal medicine from Azardiractha Indica, Cymbopogon Citratus and Psidium Guava in rats

Malaria continues to wreak havoc in certain countries especially in Africa, where it remains endemic despite therapeutic advances. Effective control of the disease is hampered by the complexity of the parasite's life cycle, drug resistance and the unavailability of prophylactic drugs. The need for new antimalarial drugs with new pharmacological mechanisms of action is becoming urgent. This study was conducted to formulate a herbal recipe to manage and treat malaria and no induce detrimental effect on human organ and tissues. Azardiractha indica, Cymbopogon citratus and Psidium guava, three medicinal plants commonly used alone or in mixture in some regions in Africa to treat malaria was used with precise proportions to formulate an herbal medicine. A 4-day curative test after Plasmodium berghei infestation of mice was studied to determine the efficacy of the formulation at concentrations of 30, 60, 90 and 120 mg/kg body weight. Hydroxychloroquine was used as the reference antimalarial drug. Results showed inhibition of parasite development at all concentrations used. Analysis of the evolution of efficacy as a function of dose showed that the recipe had an Effective Dose 50 (ED50) of 37.15 mg/kg body weight. Acute (14 days), subacute (28 days) and subchronic (90 days) toxicity were assessed in females and males rats. The acute toxicity study showed that rats given a single oral administration of the extract at 5,000 mg/kg body weight showed no behavioural changes or mortality, indicating that the 50% lethal dose (LD50) of the extract is greater than 5,000 mg/kg body weight. Similarly, doses of 50, 150 and 300 mg/kg body weight administered for 28 and 90 consecutive days to rats were found to be non-toxic after analysis of physiological and biochemical parameters. In conclusion, this study indicates scientific evidence based for the use of this mixture of three plants for the treatment of malaria.