Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

In vivo antimalarial effect of Ananas comosus (L) Merr (Bromeliaceae) fruit peel, and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy profiling: A possible role for polyunsaturated fatty acid

Philip F Uzor , Blessing U Ishiwu, Ngozi J Nwodo

Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 410001, Enugu State, Nigeria;

For correspondence:- Philip Uzor Email: philip.uzor@unn.edu.ng Tel:+2347034484754

Accepted: 18 December 2019 Published: 31 January 2020

Citation: Uzor PF, Ishiwu BU, Nwodo NJ. In vivo antimalarial effect of Ananas comosus (L) Merr (Bromeliaceae) fruit peel, and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy profiling: A possible role for polyunsaturated fatty acid. Trop J Pharm Res 2020; 19(1):137-145 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v19i1.21

© 2020 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the antimalarial effect of Ananas comosus extract and fractions and also to identify the likely bioactive compounds.

Method: The fruit peel of the plant was extracted with methanol, and the extract successively fractionated with n-hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, methanol and water. The n-hexane fraction was further subjected to vacuum liquid chromatography to afford four sub-fractions, one of which was also analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). Plasmodium berghei-infected mice were treated orally with three doses (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg) of the plant extract and a single dose (200 mg/kg) of each of the fractions and sub-fractions in a curative antimalarial model using artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) as the reference drug.

Results: The extract exhibited significant (p < 0.001) non-dose dependent parasitemia inhibitory activity in the range of 44.84 to 76.09 %. All fractions displayed inhibitory effect (p < 0.001) in the range of 46.44 to 87.58 % with the dichloromethane fraction displaying the highest effect (87.58 %). The sub-fractions exhibited significant inhibitory effect (p < 0.001) in the range of 84.14 to 92.54 %. The ACT produced significant (p < 0.001) inhibitory effect of 83.92 %. GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of 17 bioactive compounds, the most abundant of which were linoleic acid and palmitic acid.

Conclusion: A. comosus displays strong antimalarial activity which supports the folkloric use of the plant for malarial treatment. A polyunsaturated fatty acid (linoleic acid) was the most abundant phyto-constituent identified.

Keywords: Ananas comosus, Antimalarial, Malaria, Pineapple, Plasmodium beighei