Bulk Screening of Medicinal Plants and their Antitrypanosomal Activity

Abstract

The recent resistance to available trypanocids and by trypanosomes had hampered effective treatment and control. Herbal medicine has attracted much attention as potential therapeutic agent in the prevention and management of parasitic and infectious diseases, as they can yield potential leads to address emerging infections and resistance, indeed, the use of medicinal plant in treatment and management of human and animal diseases has been practiced before the advent of chemotherapy. The studied were carried by harvested fresh different parts of medicinal plants (leaves, stem, fruit, bark and root) and identified appropriately and processed accordingly. Nigerian medicinal plants were screened for possible anti-trypanosomal activity that could be further work on for isolation of trypanocidal compounds that may hold the key for development of new trypanocides and screen bulk of medicinal plants via in vitro media. In this current research on antitrypanosomal, from medicinal plants, out of the medicinal plants, Annona senegalensis (leaves, stem and roots), Terminalia avorensis and vitexdoriana displayed varied moderate to higher antitrypanosomal activity than other medicinal plant screened. The varied antitrypanosomal activity in this research report which ranged from immobilization to complete killing of the trypanosomes are comparable to trypanocidal activityof comparative invitrotrypanocidal activities of petroleum ether, chloroform, methanol and aqueous extracts of some Nigerian savannah plants. The finding indicates that few of the medicinal plants screened contained trypanocidal compound(s), if isolated in further research could be a promising candidate for a future trypanocide.