African trypanosomiasis is a parasitic disease that affects both humans and animals. This study investigated the antitrypanosomal activities of crude and an alkaloidal fraction of Diospyros mespiliformis in Trypanosoma evansi – infected rats. A total of twenty-one (21) albino rats were infected with Trypanosoma evansi and grouped into seven (A-G) of 3 rats each. Group A serve as normal control, groups B and C were given 0.2 ml normal saline/kg BW and 3.5 mg/kg BW diminazene aceturate respectively, groups D and E were treated with 100 and 200 mg/kg BW alkaloidal while groups E and F received crude extract at 200 and 400 mg/kg respectively for twelve days. Results revealed that both crude and an alkaloidal fraction of D. mespiliformis exhibited significant (p<0.05) dose-dependent antitrypanosomal activities. The crude extract exhibited 54.55±3.04 % (200 mg/kg BW) and 66.02±5.03 (200 mg/kg BW) curative effect while the alkaloidal fraction exhibited better antitrypanosomal activities with 68.68±2.34 % and 70.87±2.93 curative effect at 100 and 200 mg/kg respectively. Furthermore, the crude extract prolonged the survival of the animals to 19.02±2.06 (200 mg/kg BW) and 22.90±3.78 (400 mg/kg BW) while the alkaloidal fraction at 100 and 200 mg/kg prolonged the survival of the mice to 23.45±1.24 and 29.34±3.45 days respectively and improved the body weight gain of the animals when compared with the non-treated control (13.24±1.33 days). In conclusion, the leaves of Diospyros mespiliformis could be employed for the treatment of T. evansi infection as an alternative to conventional medicines that are besieged with undesirable properties

Diospyros mespiliformis is among the popular multipurpose tropical fruit trees, commonly used as herbal medicines. However, due to the lack of adequate scientific data on the safety of this plant, the present study was conducted to determine the phytochemical compositions and acute toxicity profile of the crude methanol extract of D. mespiliformis. In addition, diospyrin, a bioactive compound from the plant was evaluated for in silico drug-likeness, pharmacokinetics (PKs) and acute toxicity. The phytochemical contents of the plant were quantified using standardized protocols while the 50% lethal dose (LD50) was evaluated using Lorke’s methods. Results revealed that flavonoids (265.46±0.32 mg/g) are the most abundant phytochemical in methanol leaf extract of D. mespiliformis, followed by alkaloids (224.56±0.19 mg/g) and phenols (191.82±0.04 mg/g) while saponins (7.90±0.32 mg/g) was the least abundant phytochemical. The plant extract has LD50 of > 5000 mg/kg in rats. No death was recorded throughout the study period. Similarly, no behavioural changes were observed in animals dosed with the crude extract at 10 -2900 mg/kg BW. Animals administered 5000 mg/kg BW were hyperactive, restless, and displayed profused breathing which lasted only for 30 minutes after administrations. Diospyrin a bioactive compound from D. mespiliformis demonstrated good druglike candidates and exhibited a high safety profile as revealed by in silico study. In conclusion, the crude methanol extract of D. mespiliformis and its bioactive compound is well-tolerated and non-toxic to rats, and thus could be considered a safe medicinal plant for acute oral remedies