Screening Tanzanian medicinal plants for antimalarial activity

Screening Tanzanian medicinal plants for antimalarial activity

1994

GTZ 81084611 (GTZ-IVSE II)

E00629

Forty-three different plant species commonly used in traditional medicine for the treatment of malaria were selected and screened for their antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum in vitro. 13 of the 43 species were obtained directly from traditional healers who use these plants for the treatment of malaria. The other plant species were collected on the basis of ethnomedicinal information in the literature. The plant material was collected from Morogoro, Dar es Salaam and Kagera regions in Tanzania. 58 plant samples from the 43 plant species, including leaves, roots and stem bark, were investigated. Apart from the crude EtOH extracts, petroleum ether (PE), ethyl acetate (EtAc) and H2O fractions of these extracts were also tested. The in vitro testing revealed that 37% of the investigated plants showed strong antimalarial activity with IC50 values below 10 g/ml. The 4 most active plants were Cissampelos mucronata, Maytenus senegalensis, Salacia madagascariensis and Zanthoxylum chalybeum.

v.56(1):65-77, ACTA TROPICA: JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES

Research > Published Articles