CYTOTOXICITY

Malaria is a life threatening disease that affects approximately 1.2 billion people worldwide. The emergence of drug resistance parasite to currently available drugs and the spread of insecticide resistance mosquito vector have resulted in drawback to malaria control programs. Hence the need to develop novel antiplasmodial agent that will be cheaper and effective against the Plasmodium parasite. This study was aimed at evaluating the antiplasmodial property and cytotoxicity of methanol extracts of Tetrorchidium didymostemon leaves and stem bark. The study entailed preliminary evaluation of the phytochemicals and in vitro antioxidant activity of the plant extracts. The in vitro antiplasmodial property of the plant extracts (using the candle jar method) in chloroquine sensitive strain of P. falciparum (3D7 strain) and cytotoxicity (using Vero cell line) were assessed. In vivo antiplasmodial property of the extracts was evaluated on Plasmodium berghei ANKA infected Swiss mice. Fractionation of the most active extract; in vitro antiplasmodial activity and cytotoxicity of the subsequent fractions were also carried out. The most active fraction was analyzed using gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC-FID).