Evaluation of Antimalarial Activity of 80% Methanolic Root Extract of Against -Infected Mice.

BACKGROUND

Due to resistance of parasites, costs, and safety issues with currently available drugs, there is a need to discover new antimalarials. Medicinal plants are one of the most important sources of new drugs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antimalarial activity of a methanolic root extract of in Swiss albino mice infected with .

METHODS

Four-day suppressive, curative, and prophylactic tests were performed on mice infected with to evaluate the antimalarial activity of a methanolic root extract of the plant. Parasitemia suppression, survival time, body-weight change, rectal temperature change, and packed-cell volume were used to evaluate the activity of the extract. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's post hoc test for comparisons between and within groups, with <0.05 considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

The . root extract showed significant (<0.01) parasitemia-suppressive activities in all models compared to the negative control. The extract increased mean survival time and prevented weight loss, reduction in temperature, and anemia significantly in all tested doses in 4-day suppressive and curative tests.

CONCLUSION

Based on these findings, root has promising antimalarial activity and can considered a potential source to develop new agents.