In vivo Antiplasmodial activities of the Methanolic extract and Crude alkaloid fraction of Ficus sycomorus Stem bark

Plasmodium is spread to humans by the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito. The infection of this parasite was reported to have serious negative impact on the survival of humans and other animals. However, bioactive secondary metabolites are now recognized than synthetic medications due to their potentiality and affordability, Ficus sycomorus is a tree that grows in Africa, the Mediterranean, and parts of the Middle East with a lot of health benefit for traditional treatment of so many diseases. different part of this plant has been used in the past and has been reported to shown many beneficial active phytochemical compounds. Therefore, this research is designed to examined the anti-plasmodium potential of a methanolic extract of Ficus sycomorous and crude alkaloid fraction. The experimental animals and parasite Bulb/c albino mice used in this investigation were collected from the Animal House Unit of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital in Sokoto, Nigeria. The mice were between the ages of 5 and 6 weeks and weighed between 14 and 19g, and were acclimatized at a room temperature for a week. We gratefully received the Plasmodium berghei strain from Yaba College of Technology in Lagos, Nigeria. The schizonticidal activities of the bioactive extracts and controls against P. berghei-infected Balb/c mice was assessed using a 4-day suppressive test. The animals were randomly assigned to three groups, each of which had six mice based on their respective weights (test groups, negative control groups, and positive control groups). The infected mice were treated different doses of the extract and crude alkaloid fraction, while the positive control group were given quinine (Commercial medicine) and the negative control receive only water. The results after the treatment shows that, there was higher inhibition of the parasitic growth, not significantly different with the commercial drugs used. There was also no significant weight lost after the treatment with the extract as compared with the positive control and negative control group, The extrapolated IC50 determined was 50.30 mg/ml for crude extract and 28.62 mg/ml. The research therefore suggested for further investigations like toxicological assessments, characterization and purifications of crude alkaloid fraction.