Antiplasmodial, antimalarial activities and toxicity of African medicinal plants: a systematic review of literature

Tajbakhsh, Elahe; Kwenti, Tebit Emmanuel; Kheyri, Parya; Nezaratizade, Saeed; Lindsay, David S.; Khamesipour, Faham

doi:10.1186/s12936-021-03866-0

Table 2 In vivo antimalarial activity of African medicinal plants

From: Antiplasmodial, antimalarial activities and toxicity of African medicinal plants: a systematic review of literature

Plant species	Plant family	Source	Country of study	Part of plant used	Extraction solvent	Antimalarial activity	Parasite suppression rate	Strain of Plasmodium tested	Toxicity (value; assay)
Acacia nilotica	Fabaceae	[132]	Nigeria	Roots	Water	Moderate	79.5% at 400 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei NK65	No
Acacia nilotica	Fabaceae	[133]	Nigeria	Roots	Methanol	Very good	62.59% at 150 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei NK65	No
Adansonia digitata	Malvaceae	[134]	Nigeria	Stem barks	Methanol	Moderate^a	90.18% at 400 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei	Nd
		[135]	Kenya	Stem barks	Ethanol	Very good	> 60% at 100 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei	No
		[135]	Kenya	Stem barks	Water	Very good	60.47% at 100 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei	No
Ageratum conyzoides	Asteraceae	[136]	Nigeria	Leaves	Water	Moderate	89.87% at 400 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei NK65	Nd
Albizia gummifera	Fabaceae	[137]	Kenya	Root barks	Methanol	Very good^a	72.9% at 20 mg/kg.day	Plasmodium falciparum NF54 and ENT36	Nd
Allophylus africanus	Sapindaceae	[138]	Nigeria	Stems, roots	Ns	Very good	92.82–97.81 at 50 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei NK-65	Nd
Aloe pulcherrima	Xanthorrhoeaceae	[139]	Ethiopia	Leaves	Methanol	Good^a	56.2 at 200 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei	No
Anthocleista djalonensis	Gentianaceae	[140]	Nigeria	Roots	Chloroform, ethyl acetate, methanol	Moderate	64.81–87.66% at 500 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium beghei ANKA	No
Anthocleista djalonensis	Gentianaceae	[140]	Nigeria	Roots	Ethanol, chloroform, ethyl acetate, methanol	Moderate	67.92% at 500 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei ANKA	No
Artemisia macivarae	Asteraceae	[141]	Nigeria	Whole plant	Chloroform	Very good	80% at 100 mg/kg	Plasmodium berghei	Nd
Aspilia africana	Asteraceae	[142]	Nigeria	Leaves	Ethanol	Moderate	92.23% at 400 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berhhei NK65	No
Azadirachta indica	Meliaceae	[143]	Kenya	Leaves	Methanol	Good	83.48% at 250 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium falciparum D6 and W2	No
		[144]	Cameroon	Leaves	Ethanol	Moderate	69.28% at 300 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei NK65	No
		[145]	Nigeria	Leaves	Methanol	Very good	56 – 87% at 50 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei ANKA	No
Balanites rotundifolia	Zygophyllaceae	[146]	Ethiopia	Leaves	Methanol	Moderate	67% at 400 mg/dl	Plasmodium berghei	No
Blighia sapida	Sapindaceae	[147]	Nigeria	Leaves	Ethanol	Good	57% at 200 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei ANKA	No
Bombax buonopozense	Malvaceae	[148]	Nigeria	Root barks	Water	Good	93% at 200 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei NK65	Nd
Brassica nigra	Brassicaceae	[149]	Ethiopia	Seeds	Methanol	Moderate	53.13% at 400 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei ANKA	Nd
Calpurnia aurea	Fabaceae	[150]	Ethiopia	Leaves	Hydroalcohol	Very good	51.15% at 60 mg/kg	Plasmodium berghei	No
Carica papaya	Caricaceae	[151]	Nigeria	Leaves	Ethanol	Good	59.29% at 200 mg/kg	Plasmodim berghei NK65	Nd
Senna occidentalis	Fabaceae	[152]	D.R. Congo	Root barks	Ethanol	Good	68% at 200 mg/kg	Plasmodium berghei ANKA	No
Cassia sieberiana	Fabaceae	[153]	Nigeria	Stems	Ethanol	Good	63.9% at 300 g/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei NK65	No
Cassia singueana	Fabaceae	[154]	Nigeria	Root barks	Methanol	Good	79.06% at 200 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei	Yes (LD₅₀ = 847 mg/kg; mice)
Chrozophora senegalensis	Euphorbiaceae	[155]	Nigeria	Whole plant	Methanol	Very good	51.8% at 75 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei	Nd
Chrysophyllum albidum	Sapotaceae	[156]	Nigeria	Seeds, pulp juice	Ethanol	Moderate	72.97% at 500 mg/kg	Plasmodium berghei	No
Clausena anisota	Rutaceae	[157]	Nigeria	Leaves	Ethanol	Very good	82.02% at 78 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei	Yes (LD₅₀ = 393.7 mg/kg; albino mice)
Combretum molle	Combretaceae	[158]	Ethiopia	Seeds	Methanol	Good	63.5% at 250 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei ANKA	Nd
Commiphora africana	Burseraceae	[159]	Tanzania	Stem barks	Dichloromethane	Moderate	64.24% at 400 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium falciparum (D6, Dd2), Plasmodium berghei	No
Crossopteryx febrifuga	Rubiaceae	[160]	Nigeria	Stem barks	Ethanol	Good	63.65% at 200 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei var. ANKA	Nd
Croton macrostachyus	Euphorbiaceae	[161]	Kenya	Stem barks	Ethyl acetate	Moderate	82% at 500 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei ANKA	Nd
Cryptolepis sanguinolenta	Apocynaceae	[162]	Congo	Root barks	Ethanol	Moderate	75.07% at 400 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium berghei berghei	Nd
Cryptolepis sanguinolenta	Apocynaceae	[84]	Ghana	Roots	Hexane, ethanol, dichloromethane	Very good*	> 80% at 2.5 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium vinckei petteri, Plasmodium berghei ANKA	Nd
Cucumis metuliferus	Cucurbitaceae	[163]	Tanzania	Leaves	Chloroform	Moderate	70.69% at 600 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei ANKA	Nd
Dichrostachys cinerea	Fabaceae	[159]	Tanzania	Stem barks	Methanol	Moderate	53.12% at 400 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium falciparum (D6, Dd2), Plasmodium berghei	No
Dodonaea angustifolia	Sapindaceae	[164]	Ethiopia	Roots	N-butanol	Moderate	55.8% at 400 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei	Nd
Enantia chlorantha Oliv	Annonaceae	[165]	Nigeria	Stem barks	Ethanol	Moderate	75.23% at 500 mg/kg	Plasmodium berghei NK-65	Nd
Erigeron floribundus	Asteraceae	[144]	Cameroon	Whole plant	Ethanol	Good	62.4% at 240 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei NK65	No
Euphorbia cordifolia	Euphorbiaceae	[166]	Cameroon	Whole plant	Aqueous	Very good	94.70% at 200 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei	No
Euphorbia hirta L	Euphorbiaceae	[162]	Congo	Whole plant	Ethanol	Moderate	69.44% at 400 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium berghei berghei	Nd
Faidherbia albida	Fabaceae	[167]	Nigeria	Stem barks	Ethanol	Moderate	89.5 at 400 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei NK65	Nd
Grewia plagiophylla	Malvaceae	[143]	Kenya	Leaves	Methanol	Moderate	77.9 at 250 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium falciparum D6 and W2	Nd
Grewia trichocarpa	Malvaceae	[168]	Kenya	Root	Water	Good	35.8% at 10 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei	Yes (LD₅₀ = 545.8 µg/ml; brine shrimp)
Garcinia kola	Clusiaceae	[169]	Nigeria	Seeds	Petroleum ether	Very good*	93% at 200 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei	Nd
Hippocratea africana	Celastraceae	[170]	Nigeria	Nd	Ethanol	Moderate	90.9% at 600 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei berghei	Yes (LD₅₀ = 2449 mg/kg; mice)
Hoslundia opposita	Lamiaceae	[143]	Kenya	Leaves	Methanol	Moderate	79.67% at 250 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium falciparum D6 and W2	Yes (CC₅₀ = 37 µg/ml; Vero E6 cells)
Icacina senegalensis	Icacinaceae	[171]	Nigeria	Leaves	Methanol	Very good	80% at 100 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei	Yes (LD₅₀ > 2000 mg/kg; mice)
Indigofera spicata	Fabaceae	[172]	Ethiopia	Roots	Methanol	Moderate	53.42% at 600 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei ANKA	Nd
Lannea schweinfurthii	Anacardiaceae	[143]	Kenya	Leaves	Methanol	Moderate	83.48% at 250 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium falciparum D6 and W2	Yes (CC₅₀ = 76 µg/ml; Vero E6 cells)
Lippia kituiensis	Verbenaceae	[163]	Tanzania	Leaves	Ethyl acetate	Moderate	70.14% at 600 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei ANKA	Nd
Lophira lanceolata	Ochnaceae	[173]	Nigeria	Leaves	Methanol	Moderate	80% at 400 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei	No
Maerua crassifolia	Capparaceae	[174]	Nigeria	Leaves	Methanol	Moderate	86% at 400 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei NK65	No
Maytenus senegalensis	Celastraceae	[175]	Tanzania	Root barks	Ethanol	Very good	98.1% at 100 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei	No
Morinda morindoides	Rubiaceae	[152]	D.R. Congo	Leaves	Dichloromethane	Good	74% at 200 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei ANKA	No
Mucuna pruriens	Fabaceae	[176]	Nigeria	Leaves	Water	Good	71.75% at 270 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei NK65	No
Nauclea latifolia	Rubiaceae	[177]	Nigeria	Leaves	Ethanol	Moderate	60.63% at 500 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei	No
Nauclea latifolia	Rubiaceae	[165]	Nigeria	Roots	Ethanol	Moderate	71.15% at 500 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei NK-65	Nd
Oldenlandia affinis	Rubiaceae	[178]	Nigeria	Aerial parts	Methanol, water, dichloromethane	Moderate	75% at 400 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei	No
Peschiera fuchsiaefolia	Apocynaceae	[179]	Madagascar	Stem barks	Ns	Good*	43.4% at 10 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium yoelii N67, Plasmodium falciparum FMC29	Nd
Phyllanthus amarus	Phyllanthaceae	[180]	Nigeria	Whole plant	Water and ethanol	Good	79% at 1600 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium yoelii	Nd
Phyllanthus niruri	Phyllanthaceae	[152]	D.R. Congo	Whole plant	Ethanol	Good	73% at 200 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei ANKA	No
Phyllanthus niruri	Phyllanthaceae	[181]	Nigeria	Aerial parts	Methanol/chloroform	Very good	90.48% at 100 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei berghei NK 65	Nd
Phytolacca dodecandra	Phytolaccaceae	[182]	Ethiopia	Leaves	Methanol	Moderate	55.24% at 400 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei	Nd
Picralima nitida	Apocynaceae	[183]	Nigeria	Seeds	Ethanol	Good	73% at 115 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei berghei	Yes (LD₅₀ = 87.29 µg/ml; albino mice)
Piliostigma thonningii	Fabaceae	[184]	Nigeria	Leaves	Ethanol	Moderate	91% at 400 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei NK65	No
Premna chrysoclada	Lamiaceae	[143]	Kenya	Leaves	Methanol	Good	65.08% at 250 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium falciparum D6 and W2	Nd
Pseudocedrela kotschyi	Meliaceae	[185]	Nigeria	Leaves	Ethanol	Moderate	90% at 400 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei (NK65	No,
Rhus natalensis	Anacardiaceae	[143]	Kenya	Leaves	Methanol	Moderate	82.7% at 250 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium falciparum D6 and W2	Nd
Salacia nitida	Celastraceae	[165]	Nigeria	Roots	Ethanol	Moderate	71.15% at 250 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei NK-65	Nd
Stachytarpheta cayennensis	Verbenaceae	[186]	Nigeria	Leaves	Ethanol	Good	78.2% at 270 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei berghei	Yes (LD₅₀ = 938.08 mg/kg; albino mice)
Telfairia occidentalis	Cucurbitaceae	[187]	Nigeria	Leaves	Water	Good	72.17% at 200 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei ANKA	No
Tithonia diversifolia	Asteraceae	[160]	Nigeria	Aerial parts	Ethanol	Good	74.97% at 200 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei var. ANKA I	Nd
Toddalia asiatica	Rutaceae	[188]	Kenya	Root barks	Methanol	Moderate	59.3% at 500 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei NK66	Nd
Trema orientalis	Cannabaceae	[189]	Nigeria	Stem barks	Methanol	Good	70% at 200 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei	Nd
Trichilia megalantha	Meliaceae	[190]	Nigeria	Stem barks	Methanol, chloroform	Good	89.1–100% at 200 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei berghei ANKA	Nd
Triphyophyllum peltatum	Dioncophyllaceae	[191]	Ivory Coast	Roots, stem barks	Dichloromethane	Very good*	99% at 50 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei ANKA CRS	Nd
Uvaria acuminata	Annonaceae	[143]	Kenya	Roots	Methanol	Good	27.0% at 250 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium falciparum D6 and W2	Nd
Uvaria chamae P. Beauv	Annonaceae	[170]	Nigeria	Nd	Ethanol	Moderate	72.2% at 600 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei berghei	Yes (LD₅₀ = 3464 mg/kg; mice)
Verbena hastata	Verbenaceae	[192]	Nigeria	Leaves	Ethanol	Moderate	70% at 400 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei	No
Vernonia amygdalina	Asteraceae	[193]	Uganda	Leaves	Water	Good	73% at 200 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei	No
		[194]	Nigeria	Leaves	Water	Good	50.78—62.66% at 125 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei ANKA	Nd
		[195]	Botswana	Leaves and root barks	Ethanol	Moderate	67% at 500 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei	Nd
Vernonia lasiopus	Asteraceae	[188]	Kenya	Root barks	Methanol	Moderate	59.3% at 500 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei NK67	Nd
Withania somnifera	Solanaceae	[196]	Ethiopia	Leaves	Methanol	Moderate	57% at 300 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei ANKA	Nd
Xylopia aethiopica	Annonaceae	[141]	Nigeria	Fruits	Chloroform	Very good	60% at 100 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei	Nd
Artemisia abyssinica	Asteraceae	[197]	Ethiopia	Aerial parts	Hydroalcohol	Good	64.7% at 200 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei	Nd
Rotheca myricoides	Lamiaceae	[198]	Ethiopia	Leaves	Methanol	Good	54.14% at 200 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei	No
Dodonaea angustifolia	Sapindaceae	[198]	Ethiopia	Roots	Methanol	Good	57.74% at 200 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium berghei	No
Clutia abyssinica	Peraceae	[199]	Kenya	Leaves	Methanol	Moderate	40.45% at 100 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium berghei ANKA	No
Pittosporum viridiflorum	Pittosporaceae	[199]	Kenya	Leaves	Methanol	Moderate	54.77% at 100 mg/kg/day	Plasmodium falciparum D6 &W2, Plasmodium berghei ANKA	Yes (SI = 2.51; Vero E6 cells)

Nd Not done, Ns Not specified, SI Selectivity index
^aActivity determined using pure compounds isolated from plant

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ISSN: 1475-2875

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