title: Evaluation of antiplasmodial activity of medicinal plants from North Indian Buchpora and South Indian Eastern Ghats.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Development of resistance against the frontline anti-malarial drugs has created an alarming situation, which requires intensive drug discovery to develop new, more effective, affordable and accessible anti-malarial agents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Inspired by their ethnobotanical reputation for being effective against febrile diseases, antiplasmodial potential of ethyl acetate extracts (EAE) and methanol extracts (ME) of 17 medicinal plants collected from the Eastern Ghats of South India and Buchpora, North India were explored against Plasmodium falciparum in vitro using the SYBR Green assay. The results were validated both by confirmation that the fall in fluorescence signal was not due to quenching effects mediated by phytochemical extracts and by Giemsa-stained microscopy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Using EAE or ME, promising antiplasmodial activity (IC₅₀ Pf3D7 ≤ 20 μg/ml), was seen in Aerva lanata (Whole aerial parts-EAE), Anisomeles malabarica (Leaf-EAE), Anogeissus latifolia (bark-EAE), Cassia alata (leaves-EAE), Glycyrrhiza glabra (root-EAE), Juglans regia (seed-ME), Psidium guajava (leaf-ME and EAE) and Solanum xanthocarpum (Whole aerial parts-EAE). EAEs from leaves of Couroupita guianensis, Euphorbia hirta, Pergularia daemia, Tinospora cordifolia and Tridax procumbens as also ME from Ricinus communis (leaf and seed) showed good antiplasmodial activity (Pf 3D7 IC₅₀ 21 - 40 μg/ml). Moderate activity (Pf 3D7 IC₅₀: 40-60 μg/mL) was shown by the leaf EAEs of Cardiospermum halicacabum, Indigofera tinctoria and Ricinus communis while the remaining extracts showed marginal (Pf 3D7 IC₅₀ 60 to >100 μg/ml) activities. The promising extracts showed good resistance indices (0.41 - 1.4) against the chloroquine resistant INDO strain of P. falciparum and good selectivity indices (3 to > 22.2) when tested against the HeLa cell line.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results provide validity to the traditional medicinal usage of some of these plants and further make a case for activity-guided purification of new pharmacophores against malaria.
authors: Malaria Research Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi, 110067, India. inaveenkaushik@gmail.com.|Department of Bioscience & Biotechnology, Banasthali University, P.O. Banasthali Vidyapith, Rajasthan, 304 022, India. inaveenkaushik@gmail.com.
authors: Naveen K
authors: NK
authors: Kaushik
authors: Unit of Nanotechnology and Bioactive Natural Products, Department of Zoology, C. Abdul Hakeem College, Melvisharam 632509, Vellore District, Tamil Nadu, India. bag_1983@yahoo.co.in.
authors: Asokan
authors: A
authors: Bagavan
authors: Unit of Nanotechnology and Bioactive Natural Products, Department of Zoology, C. Abdul Hakeem College, Melvisharam 632509, Vellore District, Tamil Nadu, India. abdulrahuman6@hotmail.com.
authors: Abdul A
authors: AA
authors: Rahuman
authors: Unit of Nanotechnology and Bioactive Natural Products, Department of Zoology, C. Abdul Hakeem College, Melvisharam 632509, Vellore District, Tamil Nadu, India. abdulrahuman6@hotmail.com.
authors: Abdul A
authors: AA
authors: Zahir
authors: Unit of Nanotechnology and Bioactive Natural Products, Department of Zoology, C. Abdul Hakeem College, Melvisharam 632509, Vellore District, Tamil Nadu, India. mullaikamaraj1984@gmail.com.
authors: Chinnaperumal
authors: C
authors: Kamaraj
authors: Unit of Nanotechnology and Bioactive Natural Products, Department of Zoology, C. Abdul Hakeem College, Melvisharam 632509, Vellore District, Tamil Nadu, India. ognale1985@gmail.com.
authors: Gandhi
authors: G
authors: Elango
authors: Unit of Nanotechnology and Bioactive Natural Products, Department of Zoology, C. Abdul Hakeem College, Melvisharam 632509, Vellore District, Tamil Nadu, India. jayaseelancahc@gmail.com.
authors: Chidambaram
authors: C
authors: Jayaseelan
authors: Unit of Nanotechnology and Bioactive Natural Products, Department of Zoology, C. Abdul Hakeem College, Melvisharam 632509, Vellore District, Tamil Nadu, India. bioviski@gmail.com.
authors: Arivarasan V
authors: AV
authors: Kirthi
authors: Unit of Nanotechnology and Bioactive Natural Products, Department of Zoology, C. Abdul Hakeem College, Melvisharam 632509, Vellore District, Tamil Nadu, India. santhosh.rts@gmail.com.
authors: Thirunavukkarasu
authors: T
authors: Santhoshkumar
authors: Unit of Nanotechnology and Bioactive Natural Products, Department of Zoology, C. Abdul Hakeem College, Melvisharam 632509, Vellore District, Tamil Nadu, India. mari.ubanp2009@gmail.com.
authors: Sampath
authors: S
authors: Marimuthu
authors: Unit of Nanotechnology and Bioactive Natural Products, Department of Zoology, C. Abdul Hakeem College, Melvisharam 632509, Vellore District, Tamil Nadu, India. microlabsraj@gmail.com.
authors: Govindasamy
authors: G
authors: Rajakumar
authors: Department of Bioscience & Biotechnology, Banasthali University, P.O. Banasthali Vidyapith, Rajasthan, 304 022, India. santoshgenetics@gmail.com.|Present address: Department of Genetics, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana, 124001, India. santoshgenetics@gmail.com.
authors: Santosh K
authors: SK
authors: Tiwari
authors: Malaria Research Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi, 110067, India. dinkar@icgeb.res.in.
authors: Dinkar
authors: D
authors: Sahal
mesh_terms: D000962:Antimalarials / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000633:toxicity; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000469:parasitology; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000633:toxicity; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry*; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000962:Antimalarials; D010936:Plant Extracts