Antimalarial Activity of Extract and Fractions of Sauropus androgynus (L.) Merr.

Abstract

Sauropus androgynus (L.) Merr., in the Indonesian local name known as “Katuk,” is a tropical shrub plant of the family Euphorbiaceae. Based on genus and chemotaxonomic approaches, as well as in vitro testing of Plasmodium falciparum, leaves of S. androgynus are presumed to have an active compound content as an antimalarial. The current study aims to investigate the antimalarial activity of 96% ethanol extract and fractions of S. androgynus leaves. The ethanolic extract was fractionated using the vacuum liquid chromatography (VLC) method with three solvents of different polarities (n-hexane, chloroform, and 96% ethanol). The fraction obtained was then evaluated for antimalarial activity against P. falciparum 3D7 strain. The ethanolic extract was evaluated for antimalarial suppressive and prophylactic activity against P. berghei-infected mice, as well as inhibitory activity against the heme detoxification process in vitro. Fractionation of ethanolic extract resulted in seven combined fractions, with the most active fraction being FV (50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) = 2.042 µg/mL). The ethanolic extract showed good parasitic suppressive (therapeutic) activity with a median effective dose (ED50) value of 15.35 mg/kg body weight. In a prophylactic test, ethanolic extract showed parasite growth inhibitory activity of 67.74 ± 9.21% after the administration of 400 mg/kg body weight for 4 days before infection, and 65.30 ± 10.44% after the administration of 200 mg/kg body weight for 8 consecutive days (4 days before and after infection). The ethanolic extract also showed an effect in inhibiting the formation of β-hematin of about 26.87–79.36% at a concentration of 0.1–4 mg/mL and an IC50 value of 0.479 mg/mL. The S. androgynus leaves were shown to have antimalarial activity in vitro and in vivo, where ethanolic extract were more active compared with the fraction obtained. The antimalarial properties of the extract showed a higher suppressive activity than prophylactic activity.

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“…The maceration or cold extraction technique is advantageous for this study in several ways. The inexpensive cost, more active components dissolve, a lot of extracts are produced, and the technique does not require heating, which lowers the chance that the ingredients will be broken down [21,22]. The extraction process began with removing all internal organs from the meat and dried in a -50 °C freeze dryer.…”

“…The raw extract is obtained by rotating evaporating the resultant macerate at 60 °C. The raw extracts were kept refrigerated until needed in an airtight container [21,22].…”

Evaluation of the Antiplasmodial Properties of <i>Andrographis paniculata</i> (Burm.f.) and <i>Peperomia pellucida</i> (L.) Kunth

“…As described by Peter [14], with slight modifications, the sample extract AP/PP (20/80 mg) and isolated chemical (10 mg) were tested in mice infected with Pb ANKA for antiplasmodial activity. Thirty BALB/c albino mice were intraperitoneally infected with Pb ANKA (106 parasitized erythrocytes).…”

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“…Of these, the highest number of cases occurred in Papua Province, accounting for 356,889 cases (90%) of the national total [3][4][5]. Despite reports of partial resistance to Artemisinin Combination Therapy (ACT) in Southeast Asia [6][7][8] and East Africa [9,10], artemisinin-based therapies have remained the foundation of malaria management for over two decades. The rapid elimination of Plasmodium sp.…”