The increase in the incidence of resistant forms of malaria parasites has led to a gradual loss of faith in modern drugs and confidence in the use of herbs in the treatment of malaria has been on the increase in Nigeria. Locally prepared decoctions from medicinal plants had been used for the treatment of malaria for centuries, but emphasis shifted from them when chloroquine, sulphonamides and the third generation line of treatment, artemisinin combination therapy were introduced. Recent evidence suggests confidence in the once abandoned herbs for the treatment of malaria including the resistant forms of malaria parasites. Medicinal plant parts obtained from Psidium guava, Azadirachta indica, Carica papaya, Magnifera indica, Tilia europoea, Anacardium occidentale and Cymbopogan citrates in a given proportion were boiled for three hours and about 300ml of the decoction taken 3 times daily for 4 to 7 days. Evidence from herbalists, herb sellers, individuals who have taken the drug and medical laboratory scientists suggest that the drug is very effective in the treatment of chloroquine resistant malaria.
