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 400mg/kg were investigated in vivo against Plasmodium berghei (NK65) infections in mice during early, established and residual infections. Chloroquine (20mg/kg) and pyrimethamine (1.2mg/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 400mg/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.
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