Abstract:
This study scientifically investigated the antimalarial activity of an aqueous root extract (ARE) of Barringtonia acutangula (L.) Gaertn. (Lecythidaceae), claimed to be used in malaria therapy in indigenous medicine in Sri Lanka. Three doses of the ARE (400, 800 and 1200 mg/kg), chloroquine or distilled water (DW) was orally administered for 3 consecutive days and the schizonticidal activity was examined in the Plasmodium yoelii murine model. The ARE exhibited dose dependent schizonticidal activity, the highest being recorded at 800 mg/kg dose. Oral administration of ARE at 800 mg/kg dosage significantly (p< 0.05) suppressed the parasitaemia by 60.88 % compared with the control. However, the ARE was 40 % less potent than chloroquine in the P. yoelii murine model. The ARE was well tolerated by mice over a period of 30 days showing no overt signs of toxicity, stress and hepatic (in terms of serum SGOT, SGPT levels), renal (in terms of serum creatinine, urea, Na+, K+ levels) and haematological toxicity. Slightly but a significant (p< 0.05) reduction in food and water intake was observed during 2nd and 3rd week of the experiment. In conclusion, the ARE of B. acutangula is orally active, relatively non-toxic and possesses antimalarial activity justifying the claims of indigenous medicine of Sri Lanka.
