Hematological and biochemical effects of Morinda lucida and Alstonia boonei on the liver and kidney of mice infected with Plasmodium berghei

Abstract

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the hematological and biochemical effects of the Morinda lucida and Alstonia boonei in Nigerian traditional medicine for treatment of malaria. The hematological and biochemical activities of the plants against established Plasmodium berghei NK65 infection was evaluated in mice treated with extracts of Morinda lucida, Alstonia boonei, combined recipe of the plant extracts at graded doses of 400, 600, 800 mg/kg and chloroquine (a standard drug) at 10 mg/kg. The hematological results obtained after 12 days post infection showed that the white blood cell counts of mice treated with 400 mg/kg of Morinda lucida and 800 mg/kg of Alstonia boonei are significantly higher compared to the untreated group, chloroquine treated and negative control groups. Also the mean value of hemoglobin per red blood cell is low in infected mice treated with Alstonia boonei at 400 mg/kg and the combined recipe of plant extracts at 400 mg/kg compared to other groups such as the group treated with combined recipe of plant extracts at 800 mg/kg and the control group. The biochemical test showed significant increase in mean level of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, total protein and albumin of all the treatment groups when compared to the control group. Therefore, the isolation and identification of bioactive compounds from these medicinal plants can be explored for obtaining less toxic and effective antimalarial drug.