Antimalarial activity of 20 crude extracts from nine African medicinal plants used in Kinshasa, Congo

Twenty extracts including ten EtOH and ten CH2Cl2 from different parts of nine African medicinal plants used in Congolese traditional medicine for the treatment of malaria, were submitted to a pharmacological test in order to evaluate their effect on P. falciparum growth in vitro. Of these plant species, 14 (70%) extracts including EtOH and CH2Cl2 from Cassia occidentalis leaves, Cryptolepis sanguinolenta root bark, Euphorbia hirta whole plant, Garcinia kola stem bark and seeds, Morinda lucida leaves and Phyllanthus niruri whole plant produced more than 60% inhibition of the parasite growth in vitro at a test concentration of 6 mu g/ml. Extracts from E. hirta, C. sanguinolenta and M. morindoides showed a significant chemosuppression of parasitaemia in mice infected with P. berghei berghei at orally given doses of 100-400 mg/kg per day. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.