Evaluation of the use of Cocos nucifera as antimalarial remedy in Malaysian folk medicine
Ethnopharmacological relevance: White flesh extract of Cocos nucifera (coconut) was studied to ascertain the ethnopharmacological standing of its antimalarial usage in Malaysian folk medicine. Materials and methods: The crude methanol extract was investigated for phytochemical constituents and acute...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2011
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://eprints.um.edu.my/4230/1/Al-Adhroey-2011-Evaluation_of_the_us.pdf http://eprints.um.edu.my/4230/ |
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| Summary: | Ethnopharmacological relevance: White flesh extract of Cocos nucifera (coconut) was studied to ascertain the ethnopharmacological standing of its antimalarial usage in Malaysian folk medicine. Materials and methods: The crude methanol extract was investigated for phytochemical constituents and acute oral toxicity. Antimalarial activity of different extract doses of 50, 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg were investigated in vivo against Plasmodium berghei (NK65) infections in mice during early, established and residual infections. Chloroquine (20 mg/kg) and pyrimethamine (1.2 mg/kg) were used as reference drugs. Results: The results revealed that the extract contained some phytochemical constituents and is toxicologically safe by oral administration. The extract significantly reduced the parasitaemia by the 200 and 400 mg/kg doses in the all three in vivo assessment assays. However, the extract did not significantly increase the survival time of the infected mice. Conclusions: The observed pharmacological activities suggest that the Malaysian folkloric medicinal application of Cocos nucifera has a pharmacological basis. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. |
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