SMU Medical Journal

James Jere ¹, Elizabeth Chimbayo ¹, Phillip Maiden ¹, Elizabeth Kampira ¹, Fanuel Lampiao ²

Affiliations
1 Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine, P.O. Box 360, Blantyre 3, MW
2 Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Division of Physiology, College of Medicine, P.O. Box 360, Blantyre 3, MW

Abstract

The use of herbal medicine for the cure of HIV and AIDS is reported to be on the rise. Most of these herbal medicines have not been subjected to rigorous clinical testing and thus are considered unsafe within the medical establishment. The objective of the present study was to assess the cytotoxic potential of Garani MW1 aqueous extract using the brine shrimp assay. Brine shrimp larvae were incubated in Garani MW1 aqueous solution of 0, 100, 400, 600, 800, and 1000μL v/v for 12 and 24 hours. It was observed that Garani MW1 aqueous solution killed brine shrimps larvae in a dose and time dependent manner. Our results indicate that the herbal concoction has cytotoxic effects at higher concentrations of above 400μL v/v.

Keywords

Brine Shrimp, Cytotoxicity, Herbal Medicine, Garani MW1.

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