The in vivo anti-plasmodium activity of Garcinia kola Heckel

Malaria is a tropical disease and a public health burden in parts of Africa, Asia, South and Central America. It is caused by protozoan parasite of the genus Plasmodium. Antimalarial drug resistance has become one of the greatest challenges against malaria control. In this regard, traditional medicine, particularly plant based antimalarial products that are readily available and cheap could be considered as alternatives if they have demonstrable antimalarial activity. This study investigated the antimalarial activity of ethanolic extract of Garcinia kola seed in mice. Mice were infected with Plasmodium berghei and treated with Garcinia kola extract. Chloroquine was used as the reference drug. The results showed a significant reduction (p ≤ 0.05) in percentage parasitaemia in the infected mice treated with Garcinia kola extract. Packed cell volume (PCV), white blood cell count (WBC), red blood cell count (RBC), hemoglobin (Hb) and platelet count of the infected and uninfected mice were also investigated. The results showed that the animals that were not infected and treated, the animals that were infected and treated with Garcinia kola extract, the animals that were infected and treated with chloroquine and the animals that were infected and treated with chloroquine and Garcinia kola, were all healthy and not anemic. There was a decrease in the packed cell volume and hemoglobin of the animals that were infected but not treated. Our findings suggest that Garcinia kola has a potential as an antimalarial agent, however more experiments are needed before it can be put to use.