Hematological and Liver Function of Plasmodium Berghei Positive Wister Treated With Herbs and Acts

Eradication of malaria in Africa continues to be one of the greatest challenges in the health sector. All the drugs developed thus far have their limitations and are generally expensive. In Africa and Nigeria the use of herbs in treating sicknesses dated as far back as the existence of man and is still in use today by many Nigerians in rural areas. Here we evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of ethanolic extract for three of these herbs lemon grass, lime and turmeric used singly and in combination on Plasmodium berghei infected rats. Results reveals that there was an 81.54 reduction in parasite level in groups treated with herbs and an 88.9 reduction in those treated with ACTs. The time frame of this study wasn't enough to determine if there will be a resurgence in the parasitemia level. Results from the liver function test also reveals that the herbs also reduced the levels of liver enzymes in the serum but the results from the liver histology from the onset shows little or no damage to the liver This helps us to understand that the plasmodium parasites does not cause much damage to the liver cells or requires more time to do so. Hence the study concludes that potent herbs like turmeric, lemon grass and lime although not as effective as ACTs but if harnessed properly can be substituted for ACTs in treating malaria in low income rural areas of Nigeria. Nwaisaac Ikechukwu Samuel | Igbokwe Vincent Ugochukwu | Okonkwo Chukwudi Onyeka | Okpa Precious Nwaka | Nnyaha Anthonia Ekenedilichukwu | Ajeka Prisca "Hematological and Liver Function of Plasmodium Berghei Positive Wister Treated With Herbs and Acts" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-5 | Issue-5 , August 2021, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd46277.pdf Paper URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/medicine/other/46277/hematological-and-liver-function-of-plasmodium-berghei-positive-wister-treated-with-herbs-and-acts/nwaisaac-ikechukwu-samuel