Preliminary phytochemical investigation on Mama powder — an approved herbal antimalarial in Nigeria

Abstract

Malaria is an endemic disease in Africa where one out of four mortalities is reported regularly. Despite the discovery of artemisinin-combination therapy (ACT), high mortality rate persists due to chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum; hence, there is a need for new antimalarial drugs. A mixture of powdered Alstonia boonei De Wild (Apocynaceae) stem-bark (A) and powdered Picralima nitida (Stapf) T. Durand & H. Durand (Apocynaceae) seed (P), in the ratio 1:2 (Mama powder), is an FDA-approved herbal antimalarial in Nigeria. Hitherto, no phytochemical investigation on the mixture has been reported; hence, a preliminary phytochemical investigation is hereby communicated for the first time.