In Vivo Antimalarial Activity of Morinda lucida Benth. Stem Bark in Plasmodium berghei-Infected Mice

Kissinger Obaogie Orumwensodia; Patrick Ojeifo Uadia

doi:10.2659/njbmb.2022.118

Authors

Kissinger Obaogie Orumwensodia University of Benin
Prof P. O. Uadia Department of Biochemistry

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2659/njbmb.2022.118

Keywords:

Morinda lucida, Antimalaria, Antioxidants, Plasmodium berghei

Abstract

Malaria eradication remains a challenge amidst the quest for new, more effective and less expensive therapeutic options. This study evaluates the secondary metabolites, antioxidant, nutritional and antimalarial potentials of Morinda lucida stem bark. Extracts were obtained from pulverized dry stem bark, macerated in hexane, methanol, ethanol and distilled water, separately. The secondary metabolite content of extracts and proximate analysis of dried sample were assayed using standard procedures. Antioxidant potential of the extracts was measured against DPPH and ferrous ion radicals. The antimalarial activity of the extracts was assessed using chemo-suppressive, prophylactic and mean survival time (MST) assays in male Swiss albino mice infected intraperitoneally with chloroquine-sensitive Plasmodium berghei NK65 strain. There was reasonable presence of flavonoids, saponins, alkaloids, phenolics, cardiac glycosides and tannins in the extracts. The extracts had antioxidant activity with aqueous extract having the highest DPPH scavenging (IC₅₀36.51 ± 0.08 µg/mL) and ferrous ion chelating (IC₅₀84.70 ± 0.17 µg/mL) activities. Percentage proximate composition was nitrogen free extract (71.22 ± 0.56%), crude protein (6.05 ± 0.02%), crude fibre (1.71 ± 0.01%), crude fat (13.02 ± 0.01%), crude ash (2.64 ± 0.04%), and moisture (5.36 ± 0.03%). The extracts demonstrated significant (p< 0.05) antimalarial activity compared to the infected untreated control. Methanol extract had the highest chemo-suppression (67.71%), prophylaxis (63.23%) and MST (16.20 ± 1.95; 15.50 ± 1.95 days, respectively) values. Therefore, Morinda lucida possesses rich phyto-nutritional contents possibly responsible for the observed antimalarial activity with methanol extract, derived from a near mid-polarity solvent, exerting the best antimalarial effect.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Prof P. O. Uadia, Department of Biochemistry

Professor of Biochemistry

References

Adeneye, A. A. and Agbaje, E. O. (2008). Pharmacological evaluation of oral hypoglycemic and antidiabetic effects of fresh leaves ethanol extract of Morinda lucida Benth. in normal and alloxan-induced diabetic rats. African Journal of Biomedical Research, 11(1), 65-71.

Aigbokhan, E. I. (2014). Annotated checklist of vascular plants of southern nigeria- a quickReference guide to the vascular plants of southern Nigeria: a systematic approach. Uniben Press, Benin. p. 129.

Akinboro, A. and Bakare, A. A. (2007). Cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of aqueous extracts of five medicinal plants on Allium cepa Linn. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 112(3), 470-475.

AOAC (2000). Official Methods of Analysis of the Association of the Official Analytical Chemists, AOAC International, (17th ed). Washington DC, USA.

Brand-Williams, W., Cuvelier, M. E. and Berset, C. (1995). Use of free radical method to evaluate antioxidant activity. Lebensmittel-WissenschaftTechnolo, 28(1), 25-30.

Burkill, H. M. (1985). The useful plants of West Africa. Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, 1, p319.

Cannell, R. J. P. (2006). Natural Products Isolation. In: Sarker, SD; Latif, Z; Gray, AI (eds). Methods in Biotechnology (2nd ed). New Jersey: Humana Press Inc.

Chen, H. and Liu, R. H. (2018). Potential Mechanisms of Action of Dietary Phytochemicals for Cancer Prevention by Targeting Cellular Signaling Transduction Pathways. Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, 66 (13), 3260–3276.

Daziel, J. M. (1973). The useful plants of West Africa (1st ed). Crown Agents, London. pp. 403-404.

Dinis, T., Madeira, V. and Almeida, L. (1994). Action of phenolics derivatives (acetominophan, salicylate and 5-amino salicylate) as inhibitors of membrane lipid peroxidation or as peroxyl radical scavengers. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics,135(1), 161-169.

Evans, W. C. (2002). Trease and Evans Pharmacognosy (15th ed), Churchill Livingstone Port Harcourt Publishers Limited, London. Pp 204-393.

Fidock, D. A., Rosenthal, P. J., Croft, S. L., Brun, R. and Nwaka, S. (2004). Antimalarial Drug Discovery: Efficacy Models for Compound Screening. Nature Reviews in Drug Discovery, 3(6), 509–520.

Harborne, A. J. (1998). Phytochemical methods a guide to modern techniques of plant analysis. Springer Science & Business Media.

Ilodibia, C. V., Okoli, B. E. and Okeke, C. U. (2019). Evaluation of Cytological and Morphological Traits of Morinda lucida Benth. - An Under-exploited Tropical Species. Asian Journal of Biological Sciences, 12(4), 891-897. 10.3923/ajbs.2019.891.897.

Institute for Laboratory Animal Research (ILAR) (2011). Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (8th ed). National Academic Press, Washington DC.

Kalra, B. S., Chawla, S., Gupta, P. and Valecha, N. (2006). Screening of Antimalarial Drugs: An Overview. Indian Journal of Pharmacology, 38(1), 5–12.

Koumaglo, K., Gbeassor, M., Nikabu, O., Souza, C. de, Werner, W. (1992). Effects of Three Compounds Extracted from Morinda lucida on Plasmodium falciparum. Planta Medica, 58(6), 533-534.

Lawal, H. O., Etatuvie, S. O., Fawehinmi, A. B. (2011) Ethnomedicinal and pharmacological properties of Morinda lucida. Journal of Natural Products, 5(2012), 93–99.

Makinde, J. M. and Obi, P.O. (1985). Screening of Morinda lucida leaf extract for antimalarial action on Plasmodium berghei berghei in mice. African Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences, 14(1-2), 59-63.

Nelson, D. L. and Cox, M. M. (2017). Lehninger principles of biochemistry (7th ed). Freeman, WH (ed). New York.

Ochs, R. S. (2014). Metabolism and Energy. In: Biochemistry. Jones and Bartlett, Burlington, USA. pp 269-307.

Oduola, T., Bello, I., Adeosun, G., Ademosun, A., Raheem, G. and Avwioro, G., (2010). Hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity evaluation in Wistar albino rats exposed to Morinda lucida leaf extract. North American Journal of Medical Sciences, 2(5), 230-233.

Olajide, O. A., Awe, S. O., Makinde, J. M. and Morebise, O. (1999). Evaluation of the anit-diabetic property of Morinda lucida leaves in streptozotocin-diabetic rats. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 51(11), 1321-1324.

Perron, N. R., Julia, B. L. (2009). A Review of the Antioxidant Mechanisms of Polyphenol Compounds Related to Iron Binding. Cell Biochemistry and Biophysics, 53(2), 75–100.

Raji, Y., Akinsomisoye, O. S., Salman, T. M. (2005). Antispermatogenic activity of Morinda lucida extract in male rats. Asian Journal of Andrology, 2(4), 405-410.

Rathor, L. (2021). Medicinal plants: A rich source of bioactive molecules used in drug development. In Evidence Based Validation of Traditional Medicines (pp. 195-209). Springer, Singapore..

Sambamurty, A. V. S. S. (2005). Taxonomy of Angiosperms. IK International Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi. India, 408-417.

Samy, C. K. T., Dankwa, K, Stephen, Y. G. and Archibald, S. (2011). Antimalarial activity of Cryptolepisanguinolenta based herbal capsules in Plasmodium berghei infected mice. International Research Journal of Pharmarcy, 2(5), 127-131.

Sofwora, A. (1982). Screening plants for bioactive aents in medicinal plants and traditional medicine in Africa. Spectrum Books Ltd., Ibadan. Pp 128 - 161.

Sowemimo, A., Fakoya, F. A., Awopetu, I., Omobuwajo, O. R. and Adesanya, S. A. (2007). Toxicity and mutagenic activity of some selected Nigerian plants. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 113(3), 427-432.

Stahl, B. (1 973). Drug analysis by chromatography and microscopy. A practical supplement to pharmacopoeias. VI ed. Ann Arbor, Michigan. Pp 219 - 224.

Surh, Y. J. (2003). Cancer Chemoprevention with Dietary Phytochemicals. Nature Reviews Cancer, 3(10), 768-780.

Verdcourt, B. (1976). Two new species of Bocageia from Ethiopia (Mollusca-Subulinidae). Archivfür Molluskenkunde, 107, 107-109.

World Health Organization - WHO. (2021). World malaria key facts 2020. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2020.

Yu, M., Gouvinhas, I., Rocha, J., & Barros, A. I. (2021). Phytochemical and antioxidant analysis of medicinal and food plants towards bioactive food and pharmaceutical resources. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 1-14.