EVALUATION OF IN-VITRO ANTIPLASMODIAL ACTIVITY OF SELECTED ETHNOBOTANICALLY IMPORTANT MEDICINAL PLANT EXTRACTS

Purpose: A serious cause of morbidity and mortality, malaria remains a major public health concern. Failure of available treatments due to the rapid emergence of drug-resistant parasite strains emphasizes the need for a continuous search for new, safe, accessible, and affordable drug treatments. Methods: In this context, an ethnobotanical survey was conducted, different parts of seventeen medicinal plants were collected, and their methanolic extracts were prepared. These extracts were evaluated for anti-plasmodial activity against two strains of Plasmodium falciparum: chloroquine-sensitive 3D7 and resistant INDO using SYBR-Green I assay. The extracts were also assessed for cytotoxic effects against HEK293 mammalian cell lines using MTT assay. Results: Two plant extracts: Albizia lebbeck and Tecomella undulata exhibited good activity with IC₅₀ ranging from 10-20µg/ml. Among others, eight showed moderate activity (IC_50­= 20.1- 50µg/ml), while eight extracts either showed poor activity or were not active upto IC₅₀=100µg/ml against Pf3 D7. The extracts with good to moderate effects showed equipotent effects against Pf INDO and were non-toxic to mammalian cell lines with selectivity indices ranging from 2.3 to >13.3. This study validated the traditional usage of the selected plants especially leaves of A. lebbeck and T. undulata. Conclusion: The results obtained have presented a starting material for identification and purification of active compounds that might provide an alternative drug therapy to fight against malaria.