In vitro antiplasmodial and antimicrobial potential of Tagetes erecta roots

The Potentials of Ageratum conyzoides and Other Plants from Asteraceae as an Antiplasmodial and Insecticidal for Malaria Vector: An Article Review

Background

Malaria is a life-threatening disease prevalent in tropical and subtropical regions. Artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) used as an antimalarial treatment has reduced efficacy due to resistance, not only to the parasite but also to the vector. Therefore, it is important to find alternatives to overcome malaria cases through medicinal plants such as Ageratum conyzoides and other related plants within Asteraceae family.

Purpose

This review summarizes the antimalarial and insecticidal activities of A. conyzoides and other plants belonging to Asteraceae family.

Data Source

Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, and Springer link.

Study Selection

Online databases were used to retrieve journals using specific keywords combined with Boolean operators. The inclusion criteria were articles with experimental studies either in vivo or in vitro, in English or Indonesian, published after 1st January 2000, and full text available for inclusion in this review.

Data Extraction

The antimalarial activity, insecticidal activity, and structure of the isolated compounds were retrieved from the selected studies.

Data Synthesis

Antimalarial in vitro study showed that the dichloromethane extract was the most widely studied with an IC50 value <10 μg/mL. Among 84 isolated active compounds, 2-hydroxymethyl-non-3-ynoic acid 2-[2,2']-bithiophenyl-5- ethyl ester, a bithienyl compound from the Tagetes erecta plant show the smallest IC50 with value 0.01 and 0.02 µg/mL in Plasmodium falciparum MRC-pf-2 and MRC-pf-56, respectively. In vivo studies showed that the aqueous extract of A. conyzoides showed the best activity, with a 98.8% inhibition percentage using a 100 mg/kg dose of Plasmodium berghei (NK65 Strain). (Z)- γ-Bisabolene from Galinsoga parviflora showed very good insecticidal activity against Anopheles stephensi and Anopheles subpictus with LC50 values of 2.04 μg/mL and 4.05 μg/mL.

Conclusion

A. conyzoides and other plants of Asteraceae family are promising reservoirs of natural compounds that exert antimalarial or insecticidal activity.

Natural Products from Madagascar, Socio-Cultural Usage, and Potential Applications in Advanced Biomedicine: A Concise Review

Natural products endowed of biological activity represent a primary source of commodities ranging from nutrition to therapeutic agents, as well as cosmetic tools and recreational principles. These natural means have been used by mankind for centuries, if not millennia. They are commonly used all over the world in socio-economical contexts, but are particularly attractive in disadvantaged areas or economically emerging situations all over the world. This is very likely due to the relatively easy recovery of these bioactive principles from the environment, at a low if any cost, as well as ease of administration and the general popular compliance concerning their consumption/ingestion. In this concise review, we focus on some popular bioactive principles of botanical origin which find a wide use in the Madagascan populations. However, due to space limitations, only some of the most common and largely diffused principles in this country are considered. Finally, a possible nanotechnological administration is discussed in the case where a potential therapeutic usage is envisaged.

Traditional Herbal Medicine in Mesoamerica: Toward Its Evidence Base for Improving Universal Health Coverage

The quality of health care in Mesoamerica is influenced by its rich cultural diversity and characterized by social inequalities. Especially indigenous and rural communities confront diverse barriers to accessing formal health services, leading to often conflicting plurimedical systems. Fostering integrative medicine is a fundamental pillar for achieving universal health coverage (UHC) for marginalized populations. Recent developments toward health sovereignty in the region are concerned with assessing the role of traditional medicines, and particularly herbal medicines, to foster accessible and culturally pertinent healthcare provision models. In Mesoamerica, as in most regions of the world, a wealth of information on traditional and complementary medicine has been recorded. Yet these data are often scattered, making it difficult for policy makers to regulate and integrate traditionally used botanical products into primary health care. This critical review is based on a quantitative analysis of 28 survey papers focusing on the traditional use of botanical drugs in Mesoamerica used for the compilation of the "Mesoamerican Medicinal Plant Database" (MAMPDB), which includes a total of 12,537 use-records for 2188 plant taxa. Our approach presents a fundamental step toward UHC by presenting a pharmacological and toxicological review of the cross-culturally salient plant taxa and associated botanical drugs used in traditional medicine in Mesoamerica. Especially for native herbal drugs, data about safety and effectiveness are limited. Commonly used cross-culturally salient botanical drugs, which are considered safe but for which data on effectiveness is lacking constitute ideal candidates for treatment outcome studies.

Antiparasitic activity in Asteraceae with special attention to ethnobotanical use by the tribes of Odisha, India

The purpose of this review is to survey the antiparasitic plants of the Asteraceae family and their applicability in the treatment of parasites. This review is divided into three major parts: (a) literature on traditional uses of Asteraceae plants for the treatment of parasites; (b) description of the major classes of chemical compounds from Asteraceae and their antiparasitic effects; and (c) antiparasitic activity with special reference to flavonoids and terpenoids. This review provides detailed information on the reported Asteraceae plant extracts found throughout the world and on isolated secondary metabolites that can inhibit protozoan parasites such as Plasmodium, Trypanosoma, Leishmania, and intestinal worms. Additionally, special attention is given to the Asteraceae plants of Odisha, used by the tribes of the area as antiparasitics. These plants are compared to the same plants used traditionally in other regions. Finally, we provide information on which plants identified in Odisha, India and related compounds show promise for the development of new drugs against parasitic diseases. For most of the plants discussed in this review, the active compounds still need to be isolated and tested further.

Bioassay-guided isolation and characterization of active antiplasmodial compounds from Murraya koenigii extracts against Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium berghei

Malaria is an overwhelming impact in the poorest countries in the world due to their prevalence, virulence and drug resistance ability. Currently, there is inadequate armoury of drugs for the treatment of malaria. This underscores the continuing need for the discovery and development of new effective and safe antimalarial drugs. To evaluate the in vitro and in vivo antimalarial activity of the leaf ethyl acetate extract of Murraya koenigii, bioassay-guided chromatographic fractionation was employed for the isolation and purification of antimalarial compounds. The in vitro antimalarial activity was assayed by the erythrocytic stages of chloroquine-sensitive strain of Plasmodium falciparum (3D7) in culture using the fluorescence-based SYBR Green I assay. The in vivo assay was done by administering mice infected with Plasmodium berghei (NK65) four consecutive daily doses of the extracts through oral route following Peter's 4-day curative standard test. The percentage suppression of parasitaemia was calculated for each dose level by comparing the parasitaemia in untreated control with those of treated mice. Cytotoxicity was determined against HeLa cells using MTT assay. Histopathology was studied in kidney, liver and spleen of isolated compound-treated Swiss albino mice. The leaf crude ethyl acetate extract of M. koenigii showed good in vitro antiplasmodial activity against P. falciparum. The in vivo test of the leaf crude ethyl acetate extract (600 mg/kg) showed reduced malaria parasitaemia by 86.6% against P. berghei in mice. Bioassay-guided fractionation of the leaf ethyl acetate extract of M. koenigii led to the isolation of two purified fractions C3B2 (2.84 g) and C3B4 (1.97 g). The purified fractions C3B2 and C3B4 were found to be active with IC50 values of 10.5 ± 0.8 and 8.25 ± 0.2 μg/mL against P. falciparum, and in vivo activity significantly reduced parasitaemia by 82.6 and 88.2% at 100 mg/kg/body weight on day 4 against P. berghei, respectively. The isolated fractions C3B2 and C3B4 were monitored by thin-layer chromatography until a single spot was obtained with R f values of 0.36 and 0.52, respectively. The pure compounds obtained in the present investigation were subjected to UV-visible spectroscopy, Fourier transformer infrared spectroscopy, 1D and 2D (1)H-Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), (13)C NMR, DEPT, COSY and Mass spectral analysis. Based on the spectral analysis, it is concluded that the isolated compounds were myristic acid (C3B2) and β-caryophyllene (C3B4). The cytotoxic effect of myristic acid and β-caryophyllene showed the TC50 values of >100 and 80.5 μg/mL, respectively against HeLa cell line. The histopathology study showed that protection against nephrotoxicity of kidney, hepatic damage of liver and splenocytes protection in spleen was achieved with the highest dose tested at 100 mg/kg/body weight. The present study provides evidence of antiplasmodial compounds from M. koenigii and is reported for the first time.

Antioxidant and cytotoxic potential of a new thienyl derivative from Tagetes erecta roots

CONTEXT

The search for newer compounds against pathogenic species continues unabated due to drug resistance. Traditionally, Tagetes erecta Linn. (Compositae) has been used for the treatment of various parasitic and microbial diseases.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the antioxidant activity of the ethanol extract of Tagetes erecta roots and its cytotoxicity against prostate and HeLa cancer cell lines followed by activity-guided isolation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The antioxidant screening was carried out using diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay with serial concentrations ranging from 2 to 100 µg/mL, and cytotoxicity was evaluated against prostate (PC-3) and HeLa cell lines using microculture tetrazolium test (MTT) assay with concentrations ranging from 500 to 1.89 µg/mL. Isolation of the ethanol extract was carried out using column chromatography whereby 21 isolates were obtained (T₁-T₂₁), and the most active isolate was subjected for characterization using ultraviolet (UV), infrared (IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and mass spectroscopic techniques.

RESULTS

The ethanol extract scavenged DPPH free radicals thereby exhibiting antioxidant activity with an IC₅₀ of 35.9 µg/mL. In addition, the extract conferred noticeable cytotoxicity against the HeLa (LD₅₀ of 164.28 µg/mL) and PC-3 cell lines (LD₅₀ of 407.3 µg/mL). Among all the isolates, T₃ showed antioxidant activity with IC₅₀ of 11.56 µg/mL and cytotoxicity with LD₅₀ of 12.5 µg/mL against HeLa and 30.25 µg/mL against PC-3 cell lines and was characterized as 2-ethynyl-5-(thiophen-2-yl) thiophene.

DISCUSSION

The new thienyl compound (T₃) exhibited profound antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity at relatively lower concentrations than the extract.

CONCLUSION

The observations provide support for the ethnobotanical use of the plant.

Antiplasmodial Natural Products

Malaria is a human infectious disease that is caused by four species of Plasmodium. It is responsible for more than 1 million deaths per year. Natural products contain a great variety of chemical structures and have been screened for antiplasmodial activity as potential sources of new antimalarial drugs. This review highlights studies on natural products with antimalarial and antiplasmodial activity reported in the literature from January 2009 to November 2010. A total of 360 antiplasmodial natural products comprised of terpenes, including iridoids, sesquiterpenes, diterpenes, terpenoid benzoquinones, steroids, quassinoids, limonoids, curcubitacins, and lanostanes; flavonoids; alkaloids; peptides; phenylalkanoids; xanthones; naphthopyrones; polyketides, including halenaquinones, peroxides, polyacetylenes, and resorcylic acids; depsidones; benzophenones; macrolides; and miscellaneous compounds, including halogenated compounds and chromenes are listed in this review.