Malaria and treatment: Herbal antimalarials as alternative to conventional medicine
Abstract
For decades, malaria treatment has been championed by conventional medicine through chemotherapy. This was evident until the late 20th century when problems of treatment failure were observed as a result of the emergence of plasmodium parasite resistance. In addition, the safety of some of these drugs could not be guaranteed as were found to be toxic and produce adverse effect. In search for solutions to the challenges of chemotherapy enveloped the emergence of herbal medicine as possible alternatives. Today herbal medicine is appreciated worldwide for the treatment of so many diseases and malaria. This paper reviews the current status of malaria and its management with references to treatment by chemotherapy. It also enumerates the pitfalls of conventional medicine which laid the foundation of herbal medicine on malaria treatment. Key herbal antimalarial plants and studies of their efficacy and safety are cited. In addition to their safety, some herbals plants were shown in some studies to be effective against resistant parasite strains. In conclusion, emphases on the contributions of herbal treatments in the management of malaria are outlined with possible suggestion to ensure quality using good manufacturing practices for a better management of malaria in the future.
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