A search for natural bioactive compounds in Bolivia through a multidisciplinary approach. Part I. Evaluation of the antimalarial activity of plants used by the Chacobo Indians.
Thirty extracts of plants traditionally used by the Chacobos, a native community living in the Amazonian part of Bolivia, were screened in vitro and/or in vivo for antimalarial activity. Two of the four species designated as antimalarial, Geissospermum laeve and Maquira coriacea, displayed rather good activity, corroborating their traditional uses. However, they did show a rather high toxicity in vivo. Among twelve species used to cure symptoms relevant to malaria, five showed good activity: Apuleia leiocarpa, Bauhinia guianensis, Nectandra cuspidata, Sparattanthelium amazonum, Tanaecium jaroba. Two species, Qualea paraensis and Sclerolobium aff. guianense, used to treat scabies, showed interesting antimalarial activity in vivo; three other species (Iryanthera laevis, Prunus amplifolia, Pterocarpus aff. amazonum) used for various medicinal purposes, apparently not related with a Plasmodium infection, also showed antimalarial activity. Finally, one species (Derris amazonica) used as a piscicide displayed good in vitro activity, in the same way as one Annonaceae, Guatteria aff. schomburgkiana, used for construction purposes.
Muñoz
V
V
Instituto Boliviano de Biologia de Altura, La Paz, Bolivia.
Sauvain
M
M
Bourdy
G
G
Callapa
J
J
Bergeron
S
S
Rojas
I
I
Bravo
J A
JA
Balderrama
L
L
Ortiz
B
B
Gimenez
A
A
Deharo
E
E
D000818:Animals; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D000962:Antimalarials / Q000627:therapeutic use / Q000633:toxicity; D001838:Bolivia; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical / Q000379:methods; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007199:Indians, South American; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use / Q000633:toxicity; D010961:Plasmodium / Q000187:drug effects; D010962:Plasmodium berghei / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans
D000962:Antimalarials; D010936:Plant Extracts