BACKGROUND: Malaria remains a major global health concern in developing regions of the world. Homeopathy, a holistic system of medicine, has a lot to offer in protecting against malaria. METHODS: In the present study, antimalarial efficacy of combination of two homeopathic drugs Chelidonium 30 and nosode 30 has been evaluated in vivo against Plasmodium berghei (P. berghei) infection using Peters 4-day test. Biochemical assays have been performed to assess the levels of hepatic and renal function biomarkers upon drug treatment using diagnostic kits. RESULTS: The combination of the drugs demonstrated considerable in vivo antimalarial activity with chemosuppression of 91.45% on day 7. The combination also significantly (p < 0.0005) enhanced the mean survival time of mice which was calculated to be 22.5 ± 6.31 days, whereas it was 8.55 ± 0.83 days in infected control. The increase in levels of the liver function marker enzymes tested in serum of treated mice were significantly less (p < 0.0005) than those observed in infected control on day 10. The serum urea and creatinine used for assessment of renal sufficiency were slightly elevated above normal, but were statistically significant (p < 0.0005) as compared to infected control. CONCLUSIONS: The study establishes the effectiveness of the combination against P. berghei in vivo along with the safety of the drugs to the liver and kidney functions of the host.
BACKGROUND:Malaria remains a major global health concern in developing regions of the world. Homeopathy, a holistic system of medicine, has a lot to offer in protecting against malaria. METHODS: In the present study, antimalarial efficacy of combination of two homeopathic drugs Chelidonium 30 and nosode 30 has been evaluated in vivo against Plasmodium berghei (P. berghei) infection using Peters 4-day test. Biochemical assays have been performed to assess the levels of hepatic and renal function biomarkers upon drug treatment using diagnostic kits. RESULTS: The combination of the drugs demonstrated considerable in vivo antimalarial activity with chemosuppression of 91.45% on day 7. The combination also significantly (p < 0.0005) enhanced the mean survival time of mice which was calculated to be 22.5 ± 6.31 days, whereas it was 8.55 ± 0.83 days in infected control. The increase in levels of the liver function marker enzymes tested in serum of treated mice were significantly less (p < 0.0005) than those observed in infected control on day 10. The serum urea and creatinine used for assessment of renal sufficiency were slightly elevated above normal, but were statistically significant (p < 0.0005) as compared to infected control. CONCLUSIONS: The study establishes the effectiveness of the combination against P. berghei in vivo along with the safety of the drugs to the liver and kidney functions of the host.