Biochemical activity of an herb Commenlina diffusa in curing sleeping sickness in Bida area

A good number of modern drugs have been isolated from medicinal plants which have led to sudden increase in the number of herbal drugs of recent. Commenlina diffusa is a widely known annual climbing dayflower that distributes dispersedly with heavy branches and slowly grows along the soil. The LD₅₀ and biochemical effect of the plant extract was studied using 24 rats where the rats were grouped into 3 groups in 8 cages (A-G). Cages A-C as drugged with extract, D-G as inoculated with trypanosomiasis parasite (infected blood) and H as the control, they were all fed normally. The study revealed that the crude extract is tolerable below 0.22mg/100ml extraction. The biochemical assay showed an increase in the hepatic phospholipid and total glucose in the drugged rats (1.2;2.0mg/ml) while the inoculated rats with infected blood showed a decrease in hepatic phospholipid and higher hepatic glucose (1.0;2.5mg/ml) when compared with the control (1.1;1.2mg/ml). Moreover, the blood serum glucose revealed decreased in the drugged (2.40mg/ml) and increase for the inoculated rats (3.50mg/ml) when compared with the control (3.40mg/ml). The growth rate (weight difference) for the drugged is lower when compared with the control whereas the inoculated showed no significant difference, this could be as a result of the presence of phytochemical constituents in the extract. The study summarily suggests that the drug (extract) worked to oppose the infection via the gluconeogenesis pathway whereas the inoculated have their glucose synthesis elevated.