Comparative worm load recovered from laboratory animals treated with local plant extracts and Praziquantel

Abstract

The efficacy of cold water, acetone and methanol extracts of Maytenus senegalensis, Terminalia glaucescens and Colocassia antiquorum were tested on 3-4 weeks old mice and rats, infected with Schistosoma mansoni cercariae.  Oral treatments of six batches of mice and three batches of rats with the plant extracts administered at 40g/kg body weight gave a cure rate ranging from 91.56% to 87.76% in rats and 71.56% to 76.30% in mice.  Praziquantel administered at 60mg/kg body weight gave a cure rate of 87.76% in rats and 83.41% in mice respectively.  These results were significantly different (P<0.05).  The therapeutic nature of the extracts and Praziquantel reduced the pathological conditions of infected treated animals as evident by mottling of the liver with mean liver mottling score of 4.4 and 4.6 for M. senegalensis and 6.2 and 5.0 for the acetone and methanolic extracts of T. glaucescens in rats and mice respectively.  Prazaiquantel gave also similar values of 4.4 and 4.6 respectively in rats and mice.  There was no significant difference in the therapeutic scores between Praziquantel and selected plant extracts (P<0.05).  This study confirmed the efficacy of these plants as potent antischistosomal agents.