Antiplasmodial activities of crude <I>Moringa oleifera</I> leaves extracts on chloroquine sensitive <I>Plasmodium falciparum</I> (3D7)

Abstract

<jats:p>The antimalarial efficacy of crude hexane, methanol and lyophilized aqueous Moringa oleifera leaf extract was evaluated on chloroquine sensitive (CQS) strain of Plasmodium falciparum (3D7) in vitro, with a view to validate traditional use of M. oleifera as antimalarial. A dose dependent suppression of parasite growth was observed for all extracts, at microgram per mills (µg/mL) concentrations. At the lowest concentration of extract (6.25 µg/mL), the hexane, methanol and lyophilized aqueous extracts showed 63.52%, 71.42% and 60.65% suppression of plasmodium growth respectively. The extracts showed potent biological activity at the highest concentration of extract, with a strong inhibition of plasmodium growth (71.31%, 83.06% and 80.36%) observed for the hexane, methanol and lyophilized aqueous extracts. Although some extracts are observed to be more potent than others, all extracts are observed to be biologically active against the 3D7 strain of P. falciparum (Hexane extract IC50 = 3.36 µg/mL; methanol IC50 = 3.44 µg/mL and aqueous IC50 = 4.09 µg/mL respectively). The antiplasmodial activities observed may well be attributed to the presence of phenols, tannins, alkaloids and flavonoids in all solvent extracts.&#x0D; Key words: Antiplasmodial, Moringa oleifera, Phytochemical screening, Plasmodium falciparum</jats:p>

Antimalarial potential of Moringa oleifera Lam. (Moringaceae): A review of the ethnomedicinal, pharmacological, toxicological, and phytochemical evidence

“…Regarding in vitro tests, only two studies reported the potential of M. oleifera against the parasite P. falciparum. This parasite infects humans and causes the most severe form of malaria [40,73].…”

“…In an in vitro experiment, Daskum et al [40] tested different extracts of M. oleifera leaves against the P. falciparum strain 3D7. According to these authors, although some extracts were more potent than others, all were biologically active with the following IC 50 values: hexane extract IC 50 = 3.36 µg/mL; methanolic extract IC 50 = 3.44 µg/mL; aqueous extract IC 50 = 4.09 µg/mL.…”

“…Ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological surveys carried out in African and Asian countries have reported the use of M. oleifera for the treatment of malaria in traditional communities [31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]. These ethnomedicinal uses have been confirmed through in vivo and in vitro assays using different products obtained from the leaves and seeds of M. oleifera against several malaria-causing species of Plasmodium [39][40][41][42][43][44]. It is important to emphasize that the phytochemicals isolated from this species have not yet had their antimalarial activity evaluated in scientific research.…”