In vitro antiplasmodial activity of crude extracts from Togolese medicinal plants.
Keywords
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the antimalarial effect of a few plants in Togo folk medicine.
METHODS
After ethnobotanical survey, Opilia celtidifolia, Pavetta corymbosa (P. corymbosa) and Tamarindus indica (T. indica) were selected for screening. In vitro antimalarial tests were performed on crude extracts against fresh clinical isolates of Plasmodium falciparum using the semi microtest.
RESULTS
Different IC(50) values of the extracts ranged from 2.042 to 100.000 μg/mL. According to the results, the methanol extract of aerial part of P. corymbosa followed by aqueous extract of fruit of T. indica were the most active (IC(50) of 2.042 and 4.786 μg/mL, respectively). Qualitative test revealed the presence of alkaloids in the leaves of P. corymbosa that may be responsible for the activity of the plant.
CONCLUSIONS
Our study provides scientific evidence for usage of plant in the folk medicine, and further studies are needed for identification and purification of the active principles.
