Antimalarial activity of Bergenia ciliata (Haw.) Sternb. against Plasmodium berghei

The emergence of resistance against most of the drugs in current use against malaria has aggravated the disease burden in endemic regions. Several plants species have been used for treatment of malaria in traditional/cultural health systems. Bergenia ciliata, used traditionally for treatment of fever by local communities in the Himalayan Region, was evaluated for its plausible role as an antimalarial. Phytochemical screening of the ethanolic leaf extract of B. ciliata (ELEBC) revealed the presence of phenols, flavonoids, steroids and diterpenes. The extract showed good in vitro antiplasmodial activity, with an IC50 <10 μg/ml. Acute toxicity of the extract was observed to be >5 g/kg, which is considered toxicologically safe for oral administration. When tested in vivo, different concentrations of the extract (250 to 1,000 mg/kg) exhibited considerable chemosuppression on day 7, in a dose-dependent manner. Maximum chemosuppression was observed to be 87.50% at 1,000 mg/kg. Administration of ELEBC (750 and 1,000 mg/kg) significantly (p < 0.0005) enhanced the mean survival time of mice in comparison to infected control, which exhibited a mean survival time of 8.6 ± 1.5 days. Study reports presence of considerable in vitro and in vivo antimalarial activity in ethanolic leaf extract of B. ciliata for first time. Hence, the ethnopharmacological usage of the plant for treating fever is confirmed with experimental evidence.