title: Effect of selected local medicinal plants on the asexual blood stage of chloroquine resistant Plasmodium falciparum.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The development of resistant to current antimalarial drugs is a major challenge in achieving malaria elimination status in many countries. Therefore there is a need for new antimalarial drugs. Medicinal plants have always been the major source for the search of new antimalarial drugs. The aim of this study was to screen selected Malaysian medicinal plants for their antiplasmodial properties.
  
  
  METHODS
  Each part of the plants were processed, defatted by hexane and sequentially extracted with dichloromethane, methanol and water. The antiplasmodial activities of 54 plant extracts from 14 species were determined by Plasmodium falciparum Histidine Rich Protein II ELISA technique. In order to determine the selectivity index (SI), all plant extracts demonstrating a good antiplasmodial activity were tested for their cytotoxicity activity against normal Madin-Darby Bovine Kidney (MDBK) cell lines by 3-(4, 5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty three extracts derived from Curcuma zedoaria (rhizome), Curcuma aeruginosa (rhizome), Alpinia galanga (rhizome), Morinda elliptica (leaf), Curcuma mangga (rhizome), Elephantopus scaber (leaf), Vitex negundo (leaf), Brucea javanica (leaf, root and seed), Annona muricata (leaf), Cinnamomun iners (leaf) and Vernonia amygdalina (leaf) showed promising antiplasmodial activities against the blood stage chloroquine resistant P. falciparum (EC50 < 10 μg/ml) with negligible toxicity effect to MDBK cells in vitro (SI ≥10).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The extracts belonging to eleven plant species were able to perturb the growth of chloroquine resistant P. falciparum effectively. The findings justified the bioassay guided fractionation on these plants for the search of potent antimalarial compounds or formulation of standardized extracts which may enhance the antimalarial effect in vitro and in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Herbal Medicine Research Centre, Institute for Medical Research, Jalan Pahang, 50588 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. eezoo79@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mohd Ridzuan
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Mohd Abd Razak
authors.forename: Adlin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Afzan
authors.forename: Rosnani
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.forename: Nur Fasihah
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Amir Jalaluddin
authors.forename: Mohd Isa
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Wasiman
authors.forename: Siti Habsah
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Shiekh Zahari
authors.forename: Noor Rain
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Abdullah
authors.forename: Zakiah
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ismail
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000962:Antimalarials / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002417:Cattle; D002460:Cell Line; D002738:Chloroquine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004351:Drug Resistance; D008018:Life Cycle Stages; D019684:Magnoliopsida; D008288:Malaria / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000469:parasitology*; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018514:Plant Structures; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000962:Antimalarials; D010936:Plant Extracts; D002738:Chloroquine