Journal of Ethnopharmacology 88 (2003) 261–267 Studies on the use of Cassia singueana in malaria ethnopharmacy Bulus Adzu ∗ , Joseph Abbah, Habiba Vongtau, Karniyus Gamaniel Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, PMB 21, Abuja, Nigeria Received 14 March 2003; received in revised form 13 June 2003; accepted 4 July 2003 Abstract Cassia singueana (Family: Fabaceae) is used in northern Nigeria for the treatment of acute malaria attack. We investigated the activities of the methanol extract of the root bark of this plant against rodent plasmodia infection, nociception, pyrexia and inflammation in mice and rats. The studies were carried out using acetic acid-induced writhing, hot plate algesia, rodent plasmodia (Plasmodium berghei) in mice; formalin test, yeast-induced pyrexia and egg-albumin-induced inflammation in rats. The results showed that the extract exhibited significant antinociceptive, antipyretic and antiplasmodial activity in all the models used. Phytochemical screening of the extract revealed the presence of phenols, saponins, tannins and some traces of anthraquinones. The LD 50 of the extract was established to be 847 ± 30 mg/kg, i.p. in mice. The observed pharmacological activities might be the scientific basis for the folkloric use of the plant in treating acute malaria attack. The study also paves way for the possible development of it, as a phytodrug against malaria. © 2003 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Cassia singueana; Antipyretic; Antinociceptive; Antiplasmodial activity 1. Introduction The use of medicinal plant to treat ailments associated with pains is well known throughout history (Almeida et al., 2001). Such plants can play important role in drug discovery and their studies are logical research strategies in the search for new drugs (Elisabetsky et al., 1995). Cassia singueana (Syn: Cassia goratensis Fresen) (Fabaceae) known locally as pambisuma (Margi) and rumfu (Hausa) in northern Nige- ria is used traditionally for the relief of pain and body ache of acute malaria attack. It is prepared by chopping the roots into small sizes and dried before pounding into powder. The product is soaked in water or umpathu (a local gin) for 24 h. A decoction is drunk in a tumbler two to three times a day. To the best of our knowledge, the scientific basis for such usage has not been elucidated. The plant also has other var- ious ethnomedical applications that include its usage as an anticonvulsant, in constipation, snakebite, abortive, urinary schistosomiasis and hernia (Baoua et al., 1976; Ndamba et al., 1984, Chhabra et al., 1987; Audu, 1989; Mutasa et al., 1990). Antimicrobial evaluation of the plant did not give promising results (Taniguchi et al., 1978; Kloss et al., 1987; Hussain and Deeni, 1991; Kudi et al., 1999). The plant was however reported to contain alkaloids, antraquinones, ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail address: bulusadzu@yahoo.com (B. Adzu). quinoid, sterol and triterpenes (Baoua et al., 1976; Selvaraj and Chandar, 1978; Endo and Naoki, 1980; Chhabra et al., 1987). In the present study, we investigated the plant by eval- uating the antinociceptive, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory and antiplasmodial activities of the methanol extract of the root bark of Cassia singueana using standard scientific pro- cedures as outlined herein. We also carried out qualitative phytochemical assay of the extract to determine the classes of compounds present in the extract as well as its LD 50 were tested. 2. Materials and methods 2.1. Plant material The roots of Cassia singueana were collected at Midlu, Adamawa State, Nigeria in February 2002. Ibrahim Muaz- zam and Grace Ugbabe of the Department of Medicinal Plant Research and Traditional Medicine, National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), Abuja, Nigeria, confirmed the identity of the plant. A voucher specimen (No. 4598) was deposited at the herbar- ium unit of the Institute for future reference. The root bark of the plant was removed and cleaned, dried under shade and ground into powder using pestle and mortar. The powdered material (250 g) was macerated in 2 l of distilled methanol 0378-8741/$ – see front matter © 2003 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0378-8741(03)00257-5