In-vitro antimalarial activity of methanolic leaf- and stem-derived extracts from four Annonaceae plants

Abstract

Objective Plants in the Annonaceae family are known for having abundant biologically active secondary metabolites. They have been used in alternative drugs for various diseases in several countries, for instance, the bark of Cananga odorata (Lam.) Hook and Thomson is used for Ophthalmic inflammation and wound healing in Malaysia. Extracts from the leaves and stems of four Annonaceae plants, namely Uvaria longipes (Craib) L.L.Zhou, Y.C.F.Su & R.M.K.Saunders, Dasymaschalon sp., Artabotrys burmanicus A.DC, and Marsypopetalum modestum (Pierre) B.Xue & R.M.K.Saunders were investigated for growth inhibitory activity against blood-stage Plasmodium falciparum growth in vitro and for non-specific cytotoxicity against normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Antimalarial activity was assessed by invasion inhibition assay and the percentage of infected red blood cells on blood smears were determined. Cytotoxicity was tested by culturing PBMCs with the extracts, and viabilities were determined by Annexin V/propidium iodide staining. Results A. burmanicus stem extract and M. modestum leaf extract were capable of inhibiting growth of P. falciparum when used at 200 µg/mL compared to chloroquine. The extracts at effective concentrations, did not affect the viability of PBMCs. These results support further need for characterization of active compounds from specific Annonaceae plants in order to exploit their components for potential malaria treatment.

Plant Synthetic Promoters

“…Global climate change has elevated the role of sustainable agriculture; there is a growing demand for novel plant genotypes or genetically modified plants with increased tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses or secondary metabolite production [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. This can be enabled by the expression of foreign genes that increase resistance to insects, herbicides as glyphosate, or by facilitating biosynthesis, such as carotenes or astaxanthin in rice [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16].…”

Plant Synthetic Promoters

“…Global climate changes increased the role of sustainable agriculture, resulting in the growing demand for novel plant genotypes or genetically modified plants with increased tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses or the production of valuable plant secondary metabolites [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. These requirements are met by the expression of foreign genes that mediate the plant's resistance to insects, herbicides, and glyphosphate, or by enabling the engineered carotenes or astaxanthin biosynthesis in rice [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19].…”