Phytochemical Composition and Antiplasmodial Potential of Fruit Extract of Hunteria umbellata on Chloroquine-Sensitive Plasmodium berghei berghei (NK65)-Infected Albino Mice

Background and Objective: Hunteria umbellata plant is used in African traditional medicine for treating a variety of illnesses including malaria. This study evaluated the bioactive compounds, proximate composition and the antiplasmodial potentials of the fruit extract of H. umbellata. Materials and Methods: The fruits of H. umbellata were air-dried for 21 days. The dried fruits were pulverized into a fine powder and extracted with 20 mL of dichloromethane, concentrated on a steam bath to about 5 mL and air-dried to about 2 mL for GC-MS analyses. A total of 105 albino mice were divided into 3 sets of 35 mice used for the curative, chemo-suppressive and prophylactic assessment, respectively. Each set is comprised of 7 groups of 5 mice. Groups 1-7 were infected with Plasmodium berghei. Group 1 received distilled water only, Group 2 received 5 mg kg‾1 b.wt., of chloroquine phosphate. Groups 3-7 received 500, 1000, 1500, 2000 and 2500 mg kg‾1 b.wt., of aqueous fruit extract of H. umbellata respectively. Results: Proximate analysis showed the composition of moisture, total ash, crude protein, crude lipid, crude fibre and carbohydrate as: 7.12±0.20, 2.46±0.22, 5.84±0.58, 15.21±0.15, 22.86±0.19 and 46.81±0.50%, respectively. Quinoline, 2-methyl 13.27%, Hyoscyamine 9.42%, Benzyl Benzoate 7.62%, Beta-Caryophyllene 6.75% and Coumaric acid 6.48% were predominant among the 30 bioactive components identified. The extract, at different dosage, induced a significant decrease (p<0.05) in percentage parasitaemia with a corresponding increase in percentage suppression of the Plasmodium parasite. Conclusion: Hunteria umbellata fruit is high in crude fibre, carbohydrates and the bioactive compounds have antiplasmodial potentials.