ANTIMALARIAL EVALUATION

Enantia chlorantha and Nauclea latifolia are plants utilized as traditional medicine in Nigeriaforthe treatment of malaria. Enantia chlorantha is able to confer antiplasmodial activity in vitrodueto the fact that it possesses protoberberine alkaloids and flavonoids. In this experimental research, a hydroethanol extract was obtained from the barks of Enantia chlorantha and Nauclea latifolia. For the antimalarial study, twenty-five male Swiss albino mice weighing an average of 22g, were randomly distributed into 5 groups labelled; group 1; Negative control (NC) which receivednormal saline after infection, group 2; positive control (PC) which had infected micethat received 25 mg/kg chloroquine after infection, group 3 which received 50 mg/kg body weight ofBHE batch 4_A after infection, Group 4 which received 100 mg/kg body weight of BHEbatch4_B after infection and group 5 which received 250 mg/kg body weight of BHE batch 4_Cafterinfection. Treatment was done 3 hours after infection and 3 days thereafter. Smears were madefrom the lateral vein of each mice for determination of percentage parasitemia. Infectionwaswith 2 x 10 4 Plasmodium berghei. Mice administered 250 mg/kg body weight of BHEbatch4showed a significant decrease in percentage parasitemia as compared to the negative control group and this suggest that the bi-herbal combo has an impressive antimalarial activity