Promising New Antimalarial Combination Drugs: Garlic and Arteether in Pregnant Mice Infected with Plasmodium berghei

Abstract

Background: Antimalarial prescription remains a challenge in pregnant women because of maternal and fetal complications. Recently, garlic and α-β-arteether combination treatment in malariainfected mice conferred protection. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of these drugs during malaria in pregnancy and its safety measures. Objective: The study evaluates the efficacy of arteether and garlic combination drugs in protection against malaria-infected pregnant mice. Methods: Plasmodium berghei-infected pregnant mouse model was used to assess the combination drug efficacy and the outcome of abnormalities of the disease after drug treatment. After optimizing the dose and gestation period, maternal protection was confirmed by parasite clearance in smear and mortality observation. In addition, maternal hematological parameters, different organ histopathology, and IgG levels were documented along with the fetal and infant outcomes. Results: Arteether monotherapy resulted in spontaneous fetal abortion or resorption, while dosage optimization and garlic combination resulted in pregnancy completion and malaria protection. The derangements observed in the histoarchitecture of organs and hematological parameters caused by malaria infection revealed improvement after drug treatment, and the smear observation confirms the clearance of malaria parasite in the peripheral blood, but IgG level was maintained at the same higher level as in malaria-infected mice. Conclusions: The first report of an arteether and garlic combination demonstrating high efficacy in protecting against malaria-infected pregnant mice establishes its safety as a viable possible treatment for pregnancy-associated malaria.