Authors : T.N. Metoh, R.K.A. Siberedi and C.A. Pieme
Abstract: Malaria is considered as a major health problem in Cameroon and other parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. It remains one of the greatest causes of morbidity and mortality in the world with Plasmodium falciparum being the major cause of all deaths. Its management involves the use of conventional drugs with Artemether/Lumefantrine, AL (Coartem) being the firstchoice drug. The administration of coartem not only provides beneficial effects in killing the malaria parasite but also induces oxidative stress which is fatal to the system. Spirulina, a cyanobacteria is used worldwide as a nutraceutical and has potential antioxidant properties and could serve as an adjunct therapy in malaria management. The study was thus designed to evaluate the toxic potential of administration of the therapeutic dose of coartem and the ameliorative effects of spirulina. Rats were treated with distilled water, AL 27 mg/kg and AL 27 mg/kg+ different concentration of spirulina (75, 150 and 300 mg/kg). Oxidative stress was assessed by assessing levels of Malonyldialdehyde (MDA), Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC), Glutathione (GSH), Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate amino transferase (AST) activities. This study found that AL nor spirulina did not significantly (p<0.05) affect bodyweight. AL caused oxidative stress as indicated by high levels of MDA, ALT and AST activities with a decrease in TAC and GSH levels. The combined treatment of rats with both AL and spirulina showed ameliorative potential of spirulina to oxidative stress induced by AL in a dose dependent manner with spirulina 300 mg/kg showing the greatest protective effects as indicated by a significant (p<0.05) reduced levels of MDA, ALT and AST activities with significant (p<0.05) increases in TAC and GSH levels. These results therefore, suggests that spirulina possesses strong antioxidant capacity and could be used as an adjunct therapy in the management of malaria.
T.N. Metoh, R.K.A. Siberedi and C.A. Pieme, 2022. Evaluating the Effects of Spirulina (Arthrospira platensis) on Artemether/Lumefantrine (Coartem)-Induced Oxidative Stress in Wistar Rats. International Journal of Tropical Medicine, 17: 1-9.