Exploration and Characterization of Johar (Cassia siamea) Accession as a Source of Raw Material for Antimalaria Drug

Abstract

Johar is a medicinal plant belonging to the Fabaceae family, often planted as a roadside shade. Empirically, johar leaf is used for traditional medicine, including malaria, itching, scabies, diabetes, fever, wounds, and tonic. The active compound responsible for the antimalarial activity, Casiarine A, has been successfully isolated and identified from the johar leaf. The availability of johar plants with a high content of Casiarine A as the active compound is very necessary. For this reason, exploration and characterization of johar were carried out to provide superior accessions with high biomass production and bioactive compound content. The research was conducted in an exploratory accession of the plants from certain Central and East Java areas. The sample plants were morphologically characterized, and productivity tests were investigated, including the simplicia dry yield, total extract content, and phytochemical profile. The results showed that 13 johar accessions were obtained from 13 growing regions with similar morphological characters. The main differences observed were in the size, color, and shape of the leaves. The growth location affects dry yield, total extract content, and phytochemical profile. Based on the measured parameters, Johar accessions were grouped into lowland, midland, and highland clusters according to their growth locations.