IN VITRO ANTIMALARIAL ACTIVITY OF CHLOROFORM, N-BUTANOL, AND ETHYL ACETATE FRACTIONS OF ETHANOL EXTRACTS OF CARTHAMUS TINCTORIUS LINN. FLOWERS

Objective: This objective of this research was to study in vitro antimalarial activity of chloroform, n-butanol, and ethyl acetate fractions of ethanol extracts of Carthamus tinctorius Linn. flowers from Asteraceae family which empirically been used as traditional medication by people in South Sulawesi to heal measles.Methods: Fractionation was conducted using chloroform, n-butanol, and ethyl acetate. Determination of antimalarial activity was performed by in vitro test using the 24-well microplate and the candle-jar method. Breeding is done in a petri-dish and done aseptically. Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 culture obtained from frozen deposits in-thawing and bread from Pharmacy Laboratory of Airlangga University, Surabaya, Indonesia. Blood sample with a density of over 2000 was employed. Serial decreasing concentrations of the crude extract of chloroform, butanol, and ethyl acetate fraction were tested for antimalarial activity. The following concentrations were used; 100; 10; 1.0; 0.1; and 0.01 (mg/mL). Negative controls used dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) diluted in the same manner as diluting materials above test, to obtain final DMSO concentration is not more than 0.5%. Mixture and suspension test parasites (= test preparation) are then inserted into the candle-jar and incubated in a CO2 incubator at a temperature of 37°C for 48 h. After incubation for 48 h made a thin blood smear on glass object. Smear dried at room temperature, fixed with methanol, then, once dry stained with Giemsa and counted under a microscope parasitemianya with 1000 times magnification. Calculations performed on 5000’s erythrocytes.Results: Results showed that chloroform and n-butanol fraction cannot inhibit parasitemia >50%, but ethyl acetate fraction can inhibit parasitemia >50% with the highest inhibition at 100 μg/mL of 94.48%.Conclusion: Ethyl acetate fraction is highly active as antimalarial with an IC50 of 1.25 μg/mL.