Traditional herbal antimalarial therapy in Kilifi district, Kenya

To identify plant species used by the traditional health practitioners (THPs) in treatment of malaria, carry out cytotoxicity and efficacy evaluation of the identified plants and to evaluate combination effects. Thirteen plants were selected through interviews with traditional healers. In vitro antiplasmodial testing was done by measuring ability of the test sample to inhibit the incorporation of radio-labelled hypoxanthine into the malaria parasite. The extracts were tested singly and then in combination using the standard fixed ratio analysis to evaluate synergism. In vivo bioassay was done in mice using Peter's 4-days suppressive test and cytotoxicity evaluated in vitro using Vero E6 cells. Of the plants tested in vitro, 25% were highly active (IC50100μg/ml. Methanolic extracts of Azadirachta indica, Premna chrysoclada and Uvaria acuminata were the most active (IC50