Preliminary Studies of Trypanocidal Activity of Embilica Officinalis Fruits (Syn: Phyllantus Emblica)

Since time immemorial, prior to the advent of synthetic drugs, medicinal plants have been the major sources of drugs used on animals and humans. In the same vein a medicinal plant, Emblica officinalis fruits, were analyzed for its antitrypanosomal activity and cytotoxicity effects .Methanolic plant extract (MPE) of Embilica officinalis fruits at different concentrations (250-1000 µg/ml) was evaluated against Trypanosoma evansi on Vero cell line grown in Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) at appropriate conditions. In vivo infectivity assessment of incubated MPE of Emblica. officinalis fruits and medium with trypanosomes was done in mice. In vitro cytotoxicity of the test extract at concentrations (1.56-100 µg/ml) was carried out on Vero cells but without FCS. MPE of Emblica. officinalis fruits demonstrated trypanocidal activity, which ranged from immobilization, reduction and to the killing of trypanosomes. At 250 µg/ml of the test extract with trypanosomes undergoing incubation, trypanosomes could not be detected at 5 h of incubation, which was comparable to the standard drug, diminazine aceturate at concentration of 50 µg/ml at 4 h. Trypanosomes counts decreased in concentration and time –dependent faction with significant difference (P < 0.05). In in vivo infectivity assessment, group of mice inoculated with contents of wells with apparently killed trypanosomes survived for more than 60 days. While, the other group of mice inoculated with reduced trypanosomes in the incubated medium died of parasitaemia. Both MPE of E. officinalis fruits and diminazine aceturate (Berenil) were cytotoxic to Vero cells at all concentrations except at 1.56 and 6.25-1.56 µg/ml, respectively. There was marked trypanocidal activity.