Abstract:
Malaria is a significant public health problem in the world, and the rising problem of drug resistance and the availability of a limited number of effective anti-malarial drugs underline how essential it is to find new anti-malarial agents. This study was undertaken to evaluate the in-vivo antimalarial activities of an extract of Hagenia abyssinica that is used traditionally to treat malaria in Ethiopia. The rodent malaria Plasmodium berghei was used to infect healthy 7-week-old Swiss albino mice weighing 24-28 gm. Each of the extracts (100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg, and 400 mg/kg) was administered to different groups of mice. The parameters of parasitemia, survival time, body weight, and packed cell volume were measured using repository test and Peter's test. The extract significantly inhibited parasitemia and increased survival time in infected mice in a dose-dependent manner. The extract prevented loss of weight, packed cell volume. This study concluded that the extract has a promising anti-malarial activity which supports the in-vitro anti-plasmodial activity and the traditional use of the plant for treatment of malarial infection
