Document Type
Article (Restricted)
Publication Date
1-1-2011
Abstract
Ethnopharmacological relevance: White flesh extract of Cocos nucifera (coconut) was studied to ascertain the ethnopharmacological standing of its antimalarial usage in Malaysian folk medicine. Materials and methods: The crude methanol extract was investigated for phytochemical constituents and acute oral toxicity. Antimalarial activity of different extract doses of 50, 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg were investigated in vivo against Plasmodium berghei (NK65) infections in mice during early, established and residual infections. Chloroquine (20 mg/kg) and pyrimethamine (1.2 mg/kg) were used as reference drugs. Results: The results revealed that the extract contained some phytochemical constituents and is toxicologically safe by oral administration. The extract significantly reduced the parasitaemia by the 200 and 400 mg/kg doses in the all three in vivo assessment assays. However, the extract did not significantly increase the survival time of the infected mice. Conclusions: The observed pharmacological activities suggest that the Malaysian folkloric medicinal application of Cocos nucifera has a pharmacological basis. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords
Cocos nucifera as antimalarial remedy in Malaysian folk medicine
Publication Title
Journal of Ethnopharmacology
Volume
134
Issue
3
Additional Information
Al-Adhroey, Abdulelah H. Nor, Zurainee M. Al-Mekhlafi, Hesham M. Amran, Adel A. Mahmud, Rohela