Anti-malarial Activities of in vitro Cultivation of Plasmodium falciparum in Defatted Crude Stem Extracts of Solanum pseudocapsicum

Abstract

Solanum pseudocapsicum is used in Nigeria and in southern Africa commonly for boils and gonorrhoea and as an aphrodisiac. The study evaluated in-vitro anti-malarial activities of defatted crude stem extracts of Solanum pseudocapsicum against in vitro Plasmodium falciparum. The stem powder was extracted using the soxhlet method and standard phytochemical procedures were used to determine the phytochemical constituents of the extract. The culture medium was prepared according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The percentage extracts yield of dichloromethane, methanol, and petroleum ether fractions of the stem bark of S. pseudocapsicum obtained yielded (6.50%, 1.05% and 0.82%) respectively. The result of the phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of carbohydrates, glycosides, cardiac glycosides, steroids, and triterpenes in all the extracts, but with little variation of some constituents. The invitro antiplasmodial activity showed a dose-dependent decrease in the mean-parasite growth for treated and control groups. The methanol fraction has the lowest IC50 (7.6 ug/mL) and thus termed active. In conclusion, the crude stem extract of S. pseudocapsicum methanol fraction has an active anti-plasmodial effect.