Biochemical mechanism of the antimalarial activity of Azadirachta indica leaf extract.
The antimalarial herb, Azadirachta indica, acts by redox perturbation in the form of the imposition of substantial oxidant stress during malarial infection. The aqueous leaf extract substantially inhibited NADPH cytochrome C(P-450) reductase activity in rats with a significant increase in the microsomal protein. The aniline hydroxylase activity and the phenobarbitone metabolism were also enhanced. The flavonoids quercetin-3-rhamnoside and quercetin-3-rutinoside (rutin) were isolated as the major constituents of the extract. The significance of these findings in clinical malaria chemotherapy is discussed.
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D000815:Aniline Hydroxylase / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D000962:Antimalarials / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008862:Microsomes, Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology; D009251:NADPH-Ferrihemoprotein Reductase / Q000378:metabolism; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D010634:Phenobarbital / Q000494:pharmacology; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000032:analysis / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000032:analysis*; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D051381:Rats
D000962:Antimalarials; D010936:Plant Extracts; D000815:Aniline Hydroxylase; D009251:NADPH-Ferrihemoprotein Reductase; D010634:Phenobarbital