Efficacy of antimalarial herbal medicines used by communities in malaria affected regions globally: a protocol for systematic review and evidence and gap map

Abstract

IntroductionWith the rising resistance to artemisinin-based combination treatments, there is a need to hasten the discovery and development of newer antimalarial agents. Herbal medicines are key for the development of novel drugs. Currently, herbal medicine usage in communities for treatment of malaria symptoms is common as an alternative to conventional (modern) antimalarial agents. However, the efficacy and safety of most of the herbal medicines has not yet been established. Therefore, this systematic review and evidence gap map (EGM) is intended to collate and map the available evidence, identify the gaps and synthesise the efficacy of herbal antimalarial medicines used in malaria affected regions globally.Methods and analysisThe systematic review and EGM will be done following PRISMA and Campbell Collaboration guidelines respectively. This protocol has been registered in PROSPERO. Data sources will include PubMed, MEDLINE Ovid, EMBASE, Web of Science, Google Scholar and grey literature search. Data extraction will be done in duplicate using a data extraction tool tailored in Microsoft Office excel for herbal antimalarials discovery research questions following the PICOST framework. The Risk of Bias and overall quality of evidence will be assessed using Cochrane risk of bias tool (clinical trials), QUIN tool (in vitro studies), Newcastle-Ottawa tool (observational studies) and SYRCLE’s risk of bias tool for animal studies (in vivo studies). Data analysis will be done using both structured narrative and quantitative synthesis. The primary review outcomes will be clinically important efficacy and adverse drug reactions. Laboratory parameters will include Inhibitory Concentration killing 50% of parasites, IC50;Ring Stage Assay, RSA0–3 hou;Trophozoite Survival Assay, TSA50.Ethics and disseminationThe review protocol was approved by the School of Biomedical Science Research Ethics Committee, Makerere University College of Health Sciences (SBS-2022-213).PROSPERO registration numberCRD42022367073.

Advancing Women's Health in Nigeria: A Review of Laboratory Science Contributions Description

“…The gaps in the literature are pivotal as they indicate areas that necessitate further exploration and research to augment the understanding and knowledge in this domain. One notable gap in the literature is the paucity of studies focusing on the efficacy of antimalarial herbal medicines used by communities in malaria-affected regions globally, including Nigeria (Ocan et al, 2023). The systematic review and evidence gap map underscore the need for more rigorous studies to establish the efficacy and safety of herbal antimalarial medicines, which are commonly used as an alternative to conventional antimalarial agents in communities (Ocan et al, 2023).…”