A Comparative Study on the Efficacy of Some Artemisinin Combination Therapies on Plasmodium berghei in Swiss Albino Mice

Abstract

This study evaluated and compared the efficacy of five brands of Artemisinin Combination Therapies (ACTs); Dihydroartemisinin plus Piperaquine, Artesunate plus Amodiaquine, Artesunate plus Sulphadoxine/Pyrimethamine, Artemether plus lumefantrine and Artesunate plus mefloquine combinations in vivo in P.berghei infected swiss albino mice. The experimental animals were pre-screened to rule out infection. All drugs were administered as clinical doses for the curative test and the Mean Percentage Parasitemia level assessed daily for seven days and on day 60. The results showed that all the drugs were effective with artesunate plus amodiaquine combination being the most efficacious followed by dihydroartemisinin plus piperaquine and artesunate plus sulphadoxine plus pyrimethamine combinations followed by artesunate plus mefloquine combination and artemether plus lumefantrine combination which was the least efficacious. Results on day 60 showed increasing parasitemia levels in mice which received Artemether plus lumefantrine and Artesunate plus mefloquine combinations which is indicative of recrudescence. The results of this study showed that the ACT’s used in the experiment were all efficacious. The possible development of resistance to some of the drugs was shown by the increasing parasitemia levels following treatment with artesunate plus lumefantrine and artesunate plus mefloquine combinations on day 60.