Antimalarial activities of medicinal plants traditionally used in the villages of Dharmapuri regions of South India

Twenty three traditional medicinal plants were collected from the Dharmapuri region, and evaluated for antimalarial potency against chloroquine (CQ)-sensitive 3D7 and CQ-resistant INDO strains of Plasmodium falciparum in red blood cell culture using the fluorescence-based SYBR Green I assay and cytotoxicity was determined against HeLa cells using MTT assay. Results demonstrated that ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of six plants possessed good antimalarial activity without any cytotoxicity and could play an important role in herbal formulations for the treatment of malaria. An ethnopharmacological investigation of medicinal plants traditionally used to treat diseases associated with fevers in Dharmapuri region of South India was undertaken. Twenty four plants were identified and evaluated for their in vitro activity against Plasmodium falciparum and assessed for cytotoxicity against HeLa cell line. This antimalarial in vitro study was planned to correlate and validate the traditional usage of medicinal plants against malaria. An ethnobotanical survey was made in Dharmapuri region, Tamil Nadu, India to identify plants used in traditional medicine against fevers. Selected plants were extracted with ethyl acetate and methanol and evaluated for antimalarial activity against erythrocytic stages of chloroquine (CQ)-sensitive 3D7 and CQ-resistant INDO strains of Plasmodium falciparum in culture using the fluorescence-based SYBR Green I assay. Cytotoxicity was determined against HeLa cells using MTT assay. Promising antiplasmodial activity was found in Aegle marmelos [leaf methanol extract (ME) (IC50=7μg/mL] and good activities were found in Lantana camara [leaf ethyl acetate extract (EAE) IC50=19μg/mL], Leucas aspera (flower EAE IC50=12.5μg/mL), Momordica charantia (leaf EAE IC50=17.5μg/mL), Phyllanthus amarus (leaf ME IC50=15μg/mL) and Piper nigrum (seed EAE IC50=12.5μg/mL). The leaf ME of Aegle marmelos which showed the highest activity against Plasmodium falciparum elicited low cytotoxicity (therapeutic index>13). These results provide validation for the traditional usage of some medicinal plants against malaria in Dharmapuri region, Tamil Nadu, India.