Antipyretic and antimalarial activities of crude leaf extract and fractions of Enicostema littorale

Objective: To evaluate the antiplasmodial and antipyretic activities of whole plant extract\udand fractions of Enicostemma littorale (E. littorale) for ascertaining the folkloric claim of its\udantimalarial and antipyretic activities. Methods: The crude extract (260 - 780 mg/kg) and\udfractions (chloroform and acqeous; 520 mg/kg) of E. littorale were investigated for antiplasmodial\udactivity against chloroquine-sensitive Plasmodium berghei (P. berghei) infections in mice and\udfor antipyretic activity against dinitrophenol, amphetamine and yeast-induced pyrexia. The\udantiplasmodial activity during early and established infections as well as prophylactic were\udinvestigated. Artesunate (5 mg/kg) and pyrimethamine (1.2 mg/kg) were used as positive controls.\udAntipyretic activity of the crude extract was also evaluated against dinitrophenol, amphetamine\udand yeast-induced pyrexia. Results: The extract and fractions dose-dependently reduced\udparasitaemia induced by chloroquine-sensitive P. berghei infection in prophylactic, suppressive\udand curative models in mice. These reductions were statistically significant (P<0.001). They also\udimproved the mean survival time from 11 to 27 days relative to control (P<0.01 - 0.001). The\udactivities of extract/fractions were comparable to that of the standard drugs used (artesunate\udand pyrimethamine). On pyrexia induced by dinitrophenol, amphetamine and yeast, the extract\udcaused inhibitions which were statistically significant (P<0.05 - 0.001) and in a dose-dependent\udfashion. Conclusions: These plant extracts possess considerable antiplasmodial and antipyretic\udactivities, which justify its use in ethnomedicine