N'Dribala (Cochlospermum planchonii) versus chloroquine for treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria.

The aim of this work was to assess the efficacy of oral N'Dribala (tuberous roots decoction of Cochlospermum planchonii Hook) treatment versus chloroquine in non-severe malaria. The study included 85 patients with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum infection in Banfora, Burkina Faso. Forty-six patients that received N'Dribala beverage were compared to 21 patients treated with chloroquine. All patients were monitored with clinical examination and a parasitemia control by Giemsa-stained thick films. N'Dribala appeared safe and statistically as efficient as chloroquine for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria. At day 5 (D5), 57% of chloroquine-treated and 52% of N'Dribala-treated patients were cured with no detectable parasitemia (parasite density (Pd): 0) and more than 90% of whole patients were asymptomatic. N'Dribala is easily available in this country, cheap, without significant side effects and efficient with a clearly demonstrated activity on Plasmodium falciparum blood stages. This study enhances the traditional use of the Cochlospermum planchonii as alternative therapy for treatment of non-severe malaria.