Introduction: This research main goal is to study the antiplasmodial activity of Macaranga gigantea leaf ethanolic extract and its major components on malaria parasites using ex vivo model. Methods: This study was conducted by extraction of M. gigantea leaves using ethanol and isolation of its major constituent. The extract and isolate were tested ex vivo on Balb-C mice's blood after i.p. administration of Plasmodium berghei strain ANKA. Antiplasmodial activity was observed from mice blood treated by various concentration of either extract or isolate and the parasitaemia percentage were determined by calculating infected blood cell after 24 h of the treatment. It is expressed as decreased of parasitaemia levels and percent of inhibition. Qualitative analysis of active fraction were tested by HPLC method. Chemical structure of isolate were characterized by using UV, IR, 1 H-NMR, 13 C-NMR and MS spectrophotometry. Results: Ex vivo antiplasmodial study gave the percent inhibition as much as 92.1; 85.7; 64.1; 41.5 and 21.7% at extract concentrations of 300, 100, 30, 10 and 3 μg/ mL respectively. The IC 50 values of the extract was 27.1 µg/ml. With respect to the percent of inhibition, at the same concentration, the isolate showed activity as much as 70.2; 62.5; 39.1; 21.7 and 10.8%. The IC 50 value of the isolate was 60.2 µg/ml. At the same concentration with extract and Isolate, Pyrimethamine as positive control gave percent inhibition of 94; 87.5; 44.8; 15.; and 12%, with IC 50 of 31.4 µg/ml. The results showed that major constituent of M. gigantea leaves is flavonoid. HPLC analysis using a photo diode-array detector showed that the active fraction have same retention time with that of apigenin as standard. Based on instrumental analysis data and compared with literature, a flavonoid derivate known as apigenin can be said has been isolated. Conclusion: It can be concluded that either M. gigantea leaves extract or isolated active constituent known as apigenin have potent antiplasmodial property.

Macaranga is a genus of the family Euphorbiaceae which comprises of about three hundred species. It is present in some parts of the world which include Indonesia, some parts of Africa, Madagascar, Asia, the east coast of Australia and the Pacific islands. 7-15 The Macaranga gigantea plants are known to be in the form of shrubs or trees and grow in places with optimum sunlight, secondary forests or forests that have been destroyed. Macaranga gigantea plants show several bioactivity which include antitumor, anticancer, antimalaria, antimicrobes, ABSTRACT Introduction: The aim of this research was to formulate the microcapsules of Macaranga gigantea leaves extract with solvent evaporation method using Ethocel 10 cP and Eudragit E100 as matrix. Methods: M. gigantea leaves were extracted using ethanol 96%. This extract was dried by rotary evaporator. The microencapsulation process of M. gigantea leaves extract was conducted by solvent evaporation method (O/W: oil in water). The formula of M. gigantea leaves extract microcapsules were designed into six formulas (Eudragit E100: FA 1 , FA 2 , FA 3 and Ethocel 10 cP: FB 1 , FB 2 , FB 3). Microcapsules of M. gigantea leaves extract were characterized for particle size, in terms of surface morphology by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and encapsulation efficiency. Antioxidant activity of the formulation have been evaluated by DPPH method. Physical characterization on microparticles were performed by conducting entrapment efficiency and SEM picture. Results: In this research, the micoparticles containing M. gigantea extract has been developed by using ethyl cellulose (Ethocel 10 cP) and eudragit (Eudragit E100) as polymer matrix. The results showed that high concentration of polymer (Ethocel 10 cP and Eudragit E100) used in microencapsulation resulted in better M. gigantea leaves extract microcapsules in terms of physical characteristics. Particle size of microcapsules containing M. gigantea leaves extract were in the range of 3.564 to 5.887 μm. Encapsulation efficiency (% EE) was categorized as good because the value were ≥ 80% to which 85.978% (FA 3) and 88.992% (FB 3). SEM picture of FA 3 (Eudragit E100) revealed that the surface of microcapsule were rough and porous. When Ethocel 10 cP used as polymer, a smoother surface and less visible pores of microcapsule were obtained. The antioxidant ability of M. gigantea leaves extract microcapsule showed that IC 50 values was 64.51 ppm. Conclusion: It can be concluded that microcapsules of M. gigantea leaves extract can be prepared by solvent evaporation method by using Eudragit E100 and Ethocel 10 cP as polymer matrix. M. gigantea leaves has potent antioxidant activity either as extract or after formulated into microcapsules.