Table 3 Evaluation of the best 20 selected plants from the RITAM Score of efficacy (Rank 2 from Table 2)
From: A review of efficacy and safety of Ugandan anti-malarial plants with application of RITAM score
S/N | Plant | RITAM Score | Plant part | Extraction Solvent | Easy of cultivation | Active Principle | LD50(mg/kg) | Evidence of Clinical Trials | In vivo Dose | Other Relevant Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Artemisia annua | 23 | Leaf | Aq. + PE | easy | Artemisinin |  > 5000 | Yes | 200 | The active is widely recognized and accepted for marketing as a drug |
2 | Momordica foetida | 22 | Leaf | Aq | Common and easy to cultivate (climber) | Phenolic glycosides isolated but not widely studied | None | No | 500 | In vivo dose is high and no reports on LD50 and the extract mentioned to be hepatotoxic toxicity |
3 | Azadirachta indica | 20 | Leaf | Aq. & MeOH | Tree but leaves are easy to get | Azadirachtin |  > 2000 | No | 250 | Scored poorly in a Ugandan in vivo study |
4 | Toddalia asiatica | 20 | Fruit | EtoAc | Easy to cultivate in warmer areas | Nitidine |  > 1000 | No | 500 | Fruits are seasonal and not easy for purposes of commercialization |
5 | Curcuma longa | 19 | Rhizome | Et | Readily available | curcumin |  > 5000 | Yes- on bioavailability | 50 | Obstacles of bioavailability have limited its marketing as a drug |
6 | Tithonia diversifolia | 19 | Leaf | CH2CL2/Et | Readily available and easy to cultivate | Tagitinin C |  > 1600 | None | 250 | Good efficacy, even in aqueous solvents and activity confirmed in vivo in Uganda |
7 | Carica papaya | 18 | Leaf | Hexane & Et | Already under cultivation | Carpain, Linoleic acid |  > 2000 | None | 400 | In vivo study was conducted using ethanolic extract |
8 | Moringa oleifera | 17 | Leaf | MeOH/Et | Tree but leaves are easy to get | quercetin & Kaemferol | 6000Â mg/kg | None | 200 | Good efficacy and safety, and this has confirmed in Uganda |
9 | Alchornea cordifolia | 13 | Leaf | Aq. & MeOH | A srub easy to cultivate. Already under cultivation in Congo | Ellagic acid | 5000 | None | 240 | Â |
10 | Vernonia amygdalina | 15 | Leaf | Aq | widely grown and available | vernolide & vernodalol | 2000 | Yes with 67% effectiveness on day 14 (Adequate Clinical outcome) | 400 | Already exhibited good results clinically and studies in Uganda have proved its efficacy in rats and the extraction is cheaper |
11 | Artemisia afra | 14 | Leaf | CH2Cl2& MeOH | Easy to cultivate | Two guaianolide sesquiterpene lactones |  > 2500 | Yes but article retracted | 100 | May be close to Artemisia and studies reported use only non-polar solvents |
12 | Bidens pilosa | 14 | Leaf | CH3Cl/EtoAc | Easy | Acetylene & Flavonoids isolated but not tested |  > 4000 | None | 500 | No promising efficacy evidence in vivo |
13 | Cymbopogon citratus | 14 | Leaf | EtoAc/Et | Easy | Citral, myrcene and citronellal |  > 2000 | None | 400 | Scored poorly in a Ugandan In vivo study |
14 | Aspilia africana | 14 | Leaf | EtoAc/Et/Aq | Common weed readily available on a cultivated land | None |  > 6000 | Yes- reported effectivess of 70% | 300 | Clinical evidence available but no information on the active principle |
15 | Warburgia ugandensis | 13 | Stem bark | CH3Cl | Tree which has being cultivated | None |  > 5000 | No | 200 | The Stembark is hard to get in large quantities for this plant and the studies included are from Kenya |
16 | Ageratum conyzoides | 13 | Aerial/leaf | CH2Cl2 & Aq | Available herb | Isolated compounds not effective |  > 5000 | No | 400 | No studies in Uganda and the active principle not clearly known |
17 | Microglossa pyrifolia | 13 | Leaf | Aq | Readily available herb | Friedalanol | No information | No | No in vivo study | The plant is reported to have extremely potent activity in vitro in Uganda and a similar activity confirmed in many other studies outside Uganda (esp. Kenya) but no data in vivo and LD50 not done though there is data reports on hepatotoxicity |
18 | Ajuga remota | 12 | Aerial/leaf | CH2Cl2 | Not common in Uganda | ajugarin-1 |  > 2000 | No | 100 | Non polar solvent (dichloromethane) used for its extraction |
19 | Hoslundia opposita | 12 | leaf | hydro-Et/MeOH | Readily available in Uganda | hosludin, hosludal and hosludiol |  > 5000 | No | No in vivo study | No in vivo studies and moderate anti-plasmodial activity in other strains |
20 | Clerodendrum rotundifolium | 12 | leaf | Aq | Not common | no information | No information | No | No in vivo study | Has excellent in vitro potency but no in vivo studies to back it, and it is also not commonly available in case of commercialization |