Malaria Control & Elimination

Continuous emergence of antimalarial drug resistant malaria parasites warrant urgent search for new antimalarials. Traditional medicinal plant extracts have been the main sources for screening antimalarial activity. Accordingly, this study was aimed at investigation the antimalarial and anti-hemolytic properties of aqueous crude extract of Gynostemma pentaphyllum leaves against Plasmodium berghei infected mice. Aqueous crude extract of G. pentaphyllum leaves have been prepared and tested for acute toxicity and antimalarial efficacy in P. berghei ANKA infected mice. At three oral doses of 100, 500 and 1,000 mg/kg of extract were safe, chemosuppressive and thus prevented packed cell volume reduction in a dose-dependent manner compared to the untreated control group. The maximum efficacy was found at the dose of 1,000 mg/kg. This study suggests that the aqueous crude extract of this plant have promising antimalarial activity against P. berghei in a dose-dependent manner, which supports the traditional use of this plant for malaria treatment.