In vitro antimalarial activity of selected medicinal plants native to Tigray region of Ethiopia

Abstract BackgroundVarious medicinal plants are used as alternative remedies for the management of malaria, an important infectious disease responsible for around 228 million cases and 405,000 deaths worldwide in 2018. The worsening of the disease is highly associated to an emergence of drug-resistant parasites. Hence, the search of new alternative antimalarial agents from traditionally used medicinal plants is the most viable approach. The current study was aimed to evaluate the in vitro antiplasmodial property of Aloe elegans, Aloe monticola, Capparis tomentosa, Hygrophila schulli and Tephrosia gracilipes extracts.Methods Leaf latexes were collected from Aloe elegans and Aloe monticola, whereas cold maceration with 70% ethanol was used to prepare extracts from roots of Capparis tomentosa and Tephrosia gracilipes , and leaves of Hygrophila schulli . The antiplasmodial activity of the extracts against asexual and gametocyte stages was tested using parasite lactate dehydrogenase assay and luciferase assay, respectively. Cell cytotoxicity was assessed on human microvascular endothelial cells by the MTT assayResults Of the five selected medicinal plants, leaf latex of Aloe monticola showed the best activity against both asexual stages and stage V gametocytes of Plasmodium falciparum . The leaf latex of Aloe elegans and ethanolic extract of Hygrophila schulli leaves also showed antiplasmodial property against asexual stages. On the contrary, the roots of Capparis tomentosa and Tephrosa gracilipes were inactive.Conclusion Findings of this study may partly support the acclaimed traditional use of the leaves latexes of both Aloe elegans and Aloe monticola and the ethanolic extract of Hygrophila schulli leaves for the management of mild to moderate malaria.