EFFECT OF CONCOMITANT ADMINISTRATION OF ARTEMETHER-LUMEFANTRINE, HIPPOCRATEA AFRICANA ROOT BARK AND EREMOASTAX SPECIOSA LEAF EXTRACTS ON LEUCOCYTES PANEL OF NORMAL AND PLASMODIUM BERGHEI INFECTED MICE
ABSTRACT
The effect of the concomitant administration of Artemether-lumefantrine , Hippocratea africana, Eremomastax speciosa on Leukocyte panel of normal and plasmodium infected Adult Albino mice was studied. Fifty Adult albino weighing 22 to 40g were used. Twenty five mice were infected with plasmodium berghei, while the other 25 were non-infected. Each set of animal were divided into six groups of 4 mice each; based on their weight range and gender. For parasitized set, group I mice were administered Artemether- lumefantrine (3mg/kg body weight) for 3 days .Group II were administered Hippocratea africana root bark extract ,(200mg/kg body weight) for 10 days .group lll were administered Eremomastax speciosa (300mg/kg body weight) for 10 days. Group IV were administered Hippocratea africana root bark extract and Eremomastax speciosa for 10days .Group V were administered Hippocratea africana, E.speciosa and ACT for 10,10, 3 days respectively. Group VI served as control group (untreated) and were administered distilled water for 10 days. The same dosage and method of administration was done for the non-parasitized set (from group I to group VI mice).The results, for the parasitized set, group I, II, IV, V, showed a significant (p‹0.05) increase in White Blood Cell (WBC)when compared against normal control while group III showed a significant (p˂0.05) decrease in WBC and differentials when compared against ACT and normal control group respectively. There was no significant (p˃0.05) difference in the basophil count in the treated group when compared against control (untreated) and normal control respectively. There was no significant difference in the leucocyte panel in the non-parasitized group. This suggests that the concomitant administration of Artemether- lumefantrine, Hippocratea africana, and Eremomastaxspeciosa has improved parasite induced immuno-deficiency owing to observed increase in WBC count and differentials.
Keywords: Eremomastax speciosa, Hippocratea africana, Artemether-lumefantrine, malaria, leucocytes.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0 Background of the study
Medicinal plants have been identified and used throughout human history (Tapsell et al., 2006). Plants have the ability to synthesize a wide variety of chemical compounds that are used to perform biological functions. The chemical compounds in plants mediate their effects on the human body through processes identical to those already well understood for the chemical compounds in conventional drugs (Tapsell et al., 2006). Herbal medicines do not differ greatly from conventional drugs in terms of how they work and this enables them to be as effective as conventional/orthodox drugs, and also gives them the same potential to cause harmful side effects (Lai et al., 2004). Many of the pharmaceuticals currently available to physicians have a long history of use as herbal remedies this includes aspirin, digitalis, quinine and opium (swain et al., 1968). With this upsurge in the use of herbal medicines alongside orthodox medicine, there is a shift in the use of mono-therapy to multi-drug therapy as seen in the treatment of malaria, tuberculosis, cancer, diabetes, etc. This practice has become inevitable as the rise in the use of herbal remedies most especially has gone global with more than 80% of the people in west Africa (Nigeria precisely), Asia and an increasing number in some western countries using this method of treatment. Malaria, a life threatening blood disease caused by the anopheles mosquito, is a major tropical disease with high mortality and morbidity rate. It is responsible for the death of about 1.24 to 1.82 million patients mainly among children and pregnant women (WHO, 2010). Malaria has been shown to be a contributor to the economic burden in communities where it is endemic and is responsible for annual economic loss. Due to the ineffectiveness of anti-malarial drugs in combating malaria, several studies have been made which produced a new and effective anti-malaria drug, artemisinin. Artemisinin can be used alone but this leads to high rate of recrudescence (return of parasites) after which other drugs are required to clear the body of all parasites and prevent recurrence. This led the World Health Organization to recommend artemisinin combination therapies (ACT) to be the first-line therapy for Plasmodium falciparum malaria worldwide. These combinations are effective because the artemisinin component kills the majority of the parasites at the start of the treatment while the partner drug, which is more slowly eliminated, clears the remaining parasites (White, 2004). The artemisinin has a short half-life while the partner drug has a long half-life e.g mefloquin, lumefantrine, piperaquine, amodiaquine and pyronaridine (Krudsood et al., 2010). Despite the recorded success with the use of ACTs, patients often fall back to using herbal therapies in combination prior to after orthodox anti-malaria therapy (Ijarotimi et al., 2010) which is mostly done without the knowledge of a health personnel. Combination of drugs may predispose the body to pharmacodynamic or pharmacokinetic interactions which may result in drug toxicity or therapeutic failure (Fasinu et al., 2012). With regards to malaria, one of the anti-plasmodial herbs often used in combination with orthodox drugs is Hippocratea africana root bark extract alongside Eremomastax speciosa leaf extract which is believed to be anti-anaemic. This combination is commonly practiced by the people of the south-eastern part of Nigeria. The Hippocratea africana root extract has also been used traditionally in the treatment of ailments such as diabetes, fever, malaria, diarrhea, anemia (Okokon et al., 2006). It has been reported to possess anti-plasmodial activities with lethal dosage (LD50) of 2.45 mg/kg body weight in mice (Ndem et al.,2010). Further studies carried out also shows that the ethanolic extract of H. africana possesses promising schizonticidal activity (Ndem et al., 2013). Eremomastax speciosa leaf extract has also been reported to cause increase in hematological parameters and prevent malaria anemia which is common in areas endemic to malaria (Okokon et al., 2007). The leaves are also used to treat fracture, hemorrhoids, irregular menstruation and urinary tract infections (Adjanohoun et al., 1996).
Drug-herb interaction is therefore of clinical significance as an alteration in the pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics of the drug by the herb could bring about potentially severe alterations in the body such as bleeding, depression, reduced bioavailability of either of the drugs.
This work would vividly discuss and experiment on the concomitant administration of Artemether Lumefantrine, Hippocratea Africana root barkextract and Eremomastax speciosa leaf extract on Leucocyte panel of normal and plasmodium bergei infected adult Albino mice. This project work would analyze the following parameters in leucocyte panel: Total lymphocyte, white blood cells,Basophils , Eosinophils,Neutrophil, Monocyte.
EFFECT OF CONCOMITANT ADMINISTRATION OF ARTEMETHER-LUMEFANTRINE, HIPPOCRATEA AFRICANA ROOT BARK AND EREMOASTAX SPECIOSA LEAF EXTRACTS ON LEUCOCYTES PANEL OF NORMAL AND PLASMODIUM BERGHEI INFECTED MICE
