Aqueous extract of Enantia chlorantha Oliv. demonstrates antimalarial activity and improves redox imbalance and biochemical alterations in mice.

Background: Malaria is an infectious disease, which has continued to cause inconceivable loss of lives every year, almost unabatedly. Currently, it has become more difficult to treat the disease due to the emergence and spread of resistance to recommended antimalarial drugs. This situation necessitates an urgent search for antimalarial compounds with unique modes of action. Here, we investigate the antimalarial activity, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacity of Enantia chlorantha aqueous stem bark extract (EcASBE) in vivo.

Methods: The extract was screened for selected phytoconstituents including alkaloids and flavonoids. We evaluated the antimalarial activity of EcASBE against Plasmodium berghei NK65 infection in mice, using curative, prophylactic, and suppressive antimalarial test models, respectively. In addition, the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of the extract were assessed.

Results: The EcASBE significantly (p < 0.05) inhibited parasitaemia dose-dependently, with the highest inhibition (80.4%) and prolonged survival (MST = 20) observed in the curative test. Our findings reveal significant (p < 0.05) improvement of serum ALT, AST, ALP, GGT, and levels of TNF-α, creatinine and urea following extract administration. Furthermore, the extract led to a significant (p < 0.05) rise in the levels of CAT, SOD, GPx, and GSH, with a concomitant reduction in NO and MDA levels.

Conclusion: The antimalarial, antioxidative, antiperoxidative, and inflammatory-inhibiting properties of the plant in infected mice demonstrate its great value for therapeutic intervention, and substantiate its use in traditional medicine for malaria treatment. Hence, further investigation to identify the repertoire of the active antimalarial components is warranted.