There is an urgent need for the development of effective anti-malarial drugs due to emergence of resistant strains ofP. falciparum. Medicinal plants represent a plethora of compounds to achieve this feat. The stem and leaf extracts of Alstonia boonei and Carapa procera are used in various traditional medicines for the treatment of malaria
Malaria contributes substantially to the poor health situation in Africa. It is on record that, Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 90% of the world’s 300 – 500 million cases and 1.5 –2.7 million deaths annually.
About 90% of all these deaths in Africa occur in young children. Between 20 and 40 percent of outpatient visits and between 10 and15 percent of hospital admissions in Africa are attributed to malaria [1].
It is a massive problem, which plagues all segments of society. On a continent-wide basis, malaria has a severe socio-economic effect through increased poverty, impaired learning, and decreasing attendance of school and work, as well as direct costs that include a combination of personal and public expenditures on both prevention and treatment of the disease [2].
The cost of treating malaria, in Ghana, amounted to the US $772.4 million in 2009. This amount, that equaled to Ghana’s entire health budget for 2008, represents 10% of the country’s entire Gross Domestic Product for 2006 [2]
Self-prescribed medication is a widespread phenomenon in Ghana. The majority of the malaria victims only seek medical examination and treatment from health facilities when the initial attempts have failed resulting in late presentation [3-4].
Very often malaria treatments in Ghana occur at home with only a few of such home-based treatments being correct and complete. Accessibility to orthodox medical treatment in Ghana is low with per capita outpatient visits of 0.46 in 2000 [5].
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