Effect of Aqueous Leaf Extract of Stachytarphyta Jamaicensis on Temperature and Parasitaemia of Mice Experimentally Infected with Trypanosoma Brucei Brucei

Trypanosomabruceibrucei has negatively affected livestock health and production. Chemotherapy, the main means of controlling this disease is detrimental, unsafe, and unreliable due to reports of parasite resistance and adverse effect of the synthetic trypanocides. Thus, the study was aimed at evaluating the leaf of Stachytarphetajamaicensis on the Trypanosomabruceibrucei. Leaves of Stachytarphetajamaicensis were extracted using methanol and aqueous solvents. Thirty (30) mice weighing between 25-40g were divided into 6 groups (group 1- 6) of 5 mice each. Each Mouse was inoculated with 0.2 ml of blood containing an absolute number of Trypanosomabruceibrucei parasites (blood diluted with normal saline to 2 (2.0 x 106 ) parasite per field) / ml intramuscularly/mouse and were treated with various concentrations of 100, 250 and 500mg/bw of aqueous leaf extract of Stachytarphyta jamaicensis. Diminazine (Nozomil® ) at standard concentration of 3.5mg/bw was used as control. Data collected were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) at P<0.05 level of significance. The study showed that treatment with aqueous leaf extract of S. jamaicensis resulted in significant reduction (P<0.05) in Parasitaemia and extension of survival days of the treated mice for additional 8 days against the infected untreated group. There was also a corresponding stability in body temperature values of group of mice infected with Trypanosomabruceibrucei but treated the the extract this was however, statistically significant (P<0.05) when compared with the infected untreated group. The plant extract have shown a positive efficacy based on the obtained data it can however be utilized as an alternative in the absence of synthetic chemical drugs. 

Keyword: Stachytarphyta jamaicensis; Temperature; Trypanosomabruceibrucei.