Evaluation of an Antimalarial Herbal Recipe and its Individual Plant Extracts for DNA Fragmentation and Clastogenicity Potential in Swiss Albino Mice

Abstract

In this study, water extracts of leaves of Azadirachta indica and stem bark of Alstonia boonei, and their recipe were evaluated at 25.0%, 50.0% and 100.0% following DNA fragmentation and micronucleus assays in Swiss albino mice. Distilled water and 0.05% sodium azide served as negative and positive controls, respectively. The levels of superoxide dismutase, catalase and malondialdehyde in the treated mice were determined. The FTIR technique was adopted to identify the functional groups of phytochemicals present, and the proximate constituents were also determined. The individual extracts of A. indica and A. boonei were not mutagenic while the recipe was not significantly mutagenic compared to the controls. Water extract of A. indica had the least clastogenic activity, while A. boonei extract was most cytotoxic towards erythrocytes proliferation. Superoxide dismutase and catalase activities of the extracts and recipe were dose-dependent; however, the recipe at 100.0% recorded best activity, with highest amount of total proteins. A. indica recorded highest suppression of generation of malondialdehyde molecules. The phytochemicals in the extracts and recipe contained hydroxyl and carbonyl functional groups, and their proximate constituents were almost the same except for the crude protein and fiber contents of the recipe. Conclusively, extract of A. indica at the tested doses in this study was found to be less toxic to the mitotic cell division in the bone marrow, DNA and chromosomes in Swiss albino mice than the extract of A. boonei and recipe.