Phytochemical Screening and Anthelmintic Evaluations of the Stem Bark of Afzelia Africana 'SM' (Keay, 1989) against Nippostrongylus Barziliensis in Wistar Rats

The anthelmintic activity of partitioned portions of the crude methanolic extract of Afzelia africana was evaluated in-vivo in rat model, experimentally infected with Nippostrongylus braziliensis. Crude methanolic extract of the plant was obtained and further partitioned between three solvents (petroleum ether, chloroform and N-butanol). Four portions (i.e., petroleum ether, chloroform, N-butanol and the aqueous methanol portions) were obtained after the partitioning. The crude methanolic extract and all the portions (with the exception of petroleum ether) were tested for anthelmintic activity against N. braziliensis in rats. The anthelmintic activity was assessed by comparing the number of worms recovered from rats treated with the portions to those from non-treated infected controls. Deparasitization rate of 70% or greater was considered as significant. The chloroform and N-butanol portions produced significant deparasitization (p 0.05) deparasitization rate of 62.50% and 53.24% respectively. Phytochemical screening conducted on the crude methanolic extract and the four portions of the plant revealed constituents that has anthelmintic activity such as alkaloids; steroids, saponins, tannins, flavonoids and cardiac glycoside.