Antimalarial activity of Bidens pilosa L. (Asteraceae) ethanol extracts from wild plants collected in various localities or plants cultivated in humus soil

Abstract

Bidens pilosa (Asteraceae), a medicinal plant used worldwide, has antimalarial activity as shown in previous work. This study tested ethanol extracts from wild plants collected in three different regions of Brazil and from plants cultivated in various soil conditions. The extracts were active in mice infected with P. berghei: doses of < or =500 mg/kg administered by oral route reduced malaria parasitaemia and mouse mortality; higher doses were found to be less effective. Tested in vitro against three P. falciparum isolates, two chloroquine resistant and one mefloquine resistant, the plants cultivated under standard conditions, and in humus enriched soil, were active; but the wild plants were the most active. Analysis using thin layer chromatography demonstrated the presence of flavonoids (compounds considered responsible for the antimalarial activity) in all plants tested, even though at different profiles. Because B. pilosa is proven to be active against P. falciparum drug-resistant parasites in vitro, and in rodent malaria in vivo, it is a good candidate for pre-clinical tests as a phytotherapeutic agent or for chemical isolation of the active compounds with the aim of finding new antimalarial drugs.

Screening of medicinal plants againstLeishmania amazonensis

“…Seventeen plants have been studied previously against parasitic diseases as summarized in Table 1. The most common reports are against Plasmodium (Antoun et al, 2001;Andrade-Neto et al, 2004;Rodríguez et al, 2006;Kvist et al, 2006) and Trypanosoma (Gonzalez-Coloma et al, 2002;Talakal et al, 1995;Wurochekke & Nok, 2004) parasites. We did not find antiparasitic reports for three plants.…”

Antiplasmodial Activity of Aryltetralone Lignans from Holostylis reniformis

“…More than 60 Brazilian plant species used in traditional medicine to treat malaria and/or fever have been screened by our group, and several species are active against P. falciparum in culture and Plasmodium berghei in mice (1,13). In the present study, we investigated the antimalarial activities and toxicities of compounds isolated from Holostylis reniformis Duch.…”

Avaliação Etnobotânica De Plantas Utilizadas Como Potenciais Antimaláricos Na Região Da Amazônia Ocidental Brasileira

“…A atividade contra o Plasmodium tem sido atribuída à presença de flavonoides e acetilenos (ANDRADE-NETO et al, 2004). Entretanto, um estudo feito por Valdés et al (2011) mostrou que os componentes químicos da B. pilosa L. não foram ativos, variância esta atribuída às mudanças durante o período da colheita, fatores externos como solo, clima, ou uma combinação de vários eventos.…”