Abstract

BIOASSAY-GUIDED ISOLATION AND GC-MS ANALYSIS OF ANTIPLASMODIAL PRINCIPLE(S) OF METHANOL EXTRACT OF PIPER GUINEENSE LEAF

Tharcitus Chilaka Onwudiwe*, Chidimma Nwamaka Nzerem,
Godwin Christian Akuodor and Richard Ikechukwu Eze

ABSTRACT

Malaria caused by Plasmodium species is a global health concern particularly in the Sub-Saharan Africa where 90% of cases occur. Recently, fight against malaria has been greatly challenged due to emergent resistant strains of Plasmodium parasites and toxicities associated with currently available anti-malarial drugs in humans. Based on the preponderance of evidence available, plants have been documented as promising source of new therapies against many diseases including malaria. Piper guineense is claimed to be among the plants used in tradomedicine for treatment of malaria. Previous studies have reported the antiplasmodial activity of Piper guineense leaf. This study was designed to isolate and structurally elucidate by GC-MS analysis, the antiplasmodial principle(s) of methanol extract of Piper guineense leaf. This was done through the process of bioassay-guided fractionation in addition to antiplasmodial activity screening using suppressive and curative tests, and then analyzing the isolated principle using GC-MS technique. Results show that Piper guineense leaf extracts produced significant (p

Keywords: Piper guineense; Antiplasmodial; Bioassay-guided fractionation; GC-MS.