Research Article Unsweetened Natural Cocoa Powder Has the Potential to Attenuate High Dose Artemether-Lumefantrine-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Non-Malarious Guinea Pigs Isaac Julius Asiedu-Gyekye, 1 Kennedy Kwami Edem Kukuia, 1 Abdulai Mahmood Seidu, 2 Charles Antwi-Boasiako, 3 Benoit Banga N’guessan, 1 Samuel Frimpong-Manso, 4 Samuel Adjei, 5 Jonathan Zobi, 1 Abraham Terkpertey Tettey, 1 and Alexander Kwadwo Nyarko 1 1 Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Ghana School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Legon, Ghana 2 Department of Chemical Pathology, School of Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Korle-Bu, Ghana 3 Department of Physiology, School of Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Korle-Bu, Ghana 4 Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Ghana School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Legon, Ghana 5 Department of Animal Experimentation, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, Accra, Ghana Correspondence should be addressed to Isaac Julius Asiedu-Gyekye; ijasiedu-gyekye@ug.edu.gh Received 29 March 2016; Revised 30 May 2016; Accepted 8 June 2016 Academic Editor: Mohamed M. Abdel-Daim Copyright © 2016 Isaac Julius Asiedu-Gyekye et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Objective. Tis study investigated the elemental composition of unsweetened natural cocoa powder (UNCP), its efect on nitric oxide, and its hepatoprotective potential during simultaneous administration with high-dose artemether/lumefantrine (A/L). Method. Macro- and microelements in UNCP were analyzed with EDXRF spectroscopy. Tirty (30) male guinea-pigs were then divided into fve groups. For groups 3 (low-dose), 4 (medium-dose), and 5 (high-dose), the animals received oral UNCP prophylactically for 14 days. Group 1 received distilled water (14 days) and group 2 A/L for the last 3 days (days 12 to 14). Afer euthanisation, biochemical and histopathological examinations were carried out in all groups. Results. Phytochemical analysis of UNCP showed the presence of saponins, favonoids, tannins, and cardiac glycosides. Tirty-eight (38) macro- and microelements were found. UNCP produced signifcant decreases in ALT, ALP, GGT, and AST levels. A signifcant increase in total protein levels was observed during A/L+UNCP administration in comparison to 75 mg/kg A/L group. Histopathological examinations buttressed the protective efects of cocoa administration. UNCP administration increased nitric oxide levels 149.71% ( < 0.05) compared to controls. Conclusion. UNCP increases nitric oxide levels and has hepatoprotective potential during A/L administration. A high level of copper was observed which may be detrimental during high daily consumptions of UNCP. 1. Introduction Malaria is an infection transmitted by the female anopheles mosquito. It is a major public health issue in the tropics and one of the world’s leading infectious killer diseases. Te high death rate resulting from malaria cannot be overem- phasised especially in some parts of Africa. In Ghana 3.5 million people contract malaria every year [1, 2]. Resistance is a major setback in the management of malaria and has therefore necessitated countries to review and implement new antimalarial drug policies to ensure efective case management to reduce both morbidity and mortality [3]. Due to increased therapeutic efcacy, decreased cytotoxi- city, and delay or prevention of the development of drug resistance, combination drug regimens is recommended over monotherapy [4]. Artemisinin-based combination therapy Hindawi Publishing Corporation Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Volume 2016, Article ID 7387286, 11 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/7387286