Antiplasmodial, antimalarial activities and toxicity of African medicinal plants: a systematic review of literature
Abstract Background Malaria still constitutes a major public health menace, especially in tropical and subtropical countries. Close to half a million people mainly children in Africa, die every year from the disease. With the rising resistance to frontline drugs (artemisinin-based combinations), the...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2021-08-01
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| Series: | Malaria Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-021-03866-0 |
| _version_ | 1819109412377198592 |
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| author | Elahe Tajbakhsh Tebit Emmanuel Kwenti Parya Kheyri Saeed Nezaratizade David S. Lindsay Faham Khamesipour |
| author_facet | Elahe Tajbakhsh Tebit Emmanuel Kwenti Parya Kheyri Saeed Nezaratizade David S. Lindsay Faham Khamesipour |
| author_sort | Elahe Tajbakhsh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Malaria still constitutes a major public health menace, especially in tropical and subtropical countries. Close to half a million people mainly children in Africa, die every year from the disease. With the rising resistance to frontline drugs (artemisinin-based combinations), there is a need to accelerate the discovery and development of newer anti-malarial drugs. A systematic review was conducted to identify the African medicinal plants with significant antiplasmodial and/or anti-malarial activity, toxicity, as wells as assessing the variation in their activity between study designs (in vitro and in vivo). Methods Key health-related databases including Google Scholar, PubMed, PubMed Central, and Science Direct were searched for relevant literature on the antiplasmodial and anti-malarial activities of African medicinal plants. Results In total, 200 research articles were identified, a majority of which were studies conducted in Nigeria. The selected research articles constituted 722 independent experiments evaluating 502 plant species. Of the 722 studies, 81.9%, 12.4%, and 5.5% were in vitro, in vivo, and combined in vitro and in vivo, respectively. The most frequently investigated plant species were Azadirachta indica, Zanthoxylum chalybeum, Picrilima nitida, and Nauclea latifolia meanwhile Fabaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Annonaceae, Rubiaceae, Rutaceae, Meliaceae, and Lamiaceae were the most frequently investigated plant families. Overall, 248 (34.3%), 241 (33.4%), and 233 (32.3%) of the studies reported very good, good, and moderate activity, respectively. Alchornea cordifolia, Flueggea virosa, Cryptolepis sanguinolenta, Zanthoxylum chalybeum, and Maytenus senegalensis gave consistently very good activity across the different studies. In all, only 31 (4.3%) of studies involved pure compounds and these had significantly (p = 0.044) higher antiplasmodial activity relative to crude extracts. Out of the 198 plant species tested for toxicity, 52 (26.3%) demonstrated some degree of toxicity, with toxicity most frequently reported with Azadirachta indica and Vernonia amygdalina. These species were equally the most frequently inactive plants reported. The leaves were the most frequently reported toxic part of plants used. Furthermore, toxicity was observed to decrease with increasing antiplasmodial activity. Conclusions Although there are many indigenous plants with considerable antiplasmodial and anti-malarial activity, the progress in the development of new anti-malarial drugs from African medicinal plants is still slothful, with only one clinical trial with Cochlospermum planchonii (Bixaceae) conducted to date. There is, therefore, the need to scale up anti-malarial drug discovery in the African region. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T03:25:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-53133d7327b44b639d80674b4b44fbea |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1475-2875 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T03:25:25Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Malaria Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-53133d7327b44b639d80674b4b44fbea2022-12-21T18:40:37ZengBMCMalaria Journal1475-28752021-08-0120115010.1186/s12936-021-03866-0Antiplasmodial, antimalarial activities and toxicity of African medicinal plants: a systematic review of literatureElahe Tajbakhsh0Tebit Emmanuel Kwenti1Parya Kheyri2Saeed Nezaratizade3David S. Lindsay4Faham Khamesipour5Department of Microbiology, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad UniversityDepartment of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Regional Hospital BueaYoung Researchers and Elite Club, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad UniversityYoung Researchers and Elite Club, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad UniversityDepartment of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Center for One Health Research, Virginia Maryland College of Veterinary MedicineShahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad UniversityAbstract Background Malaria still constitutes a major public health menace, especially in tropical and subtropical countries. Close to half a million people mainly children in Africa, die every year from the disease. With the rising resistance to frontline drugs (artemisinin-based combinations), there is a need to accelerate the discovery and development of newer anti-malarial drugs. A systematic review was conducted to identify the African medicinal plants with significant antiplasmodial and/or anti-malarial activity, toxicity, as wells as assessing the variation in their activity between study designs (in vitro and in vivo). Methods Key health-related databases including Google Scholar, PubMed, PubMed Central, and Science Direct were searched for relevant literature on the antiplasmodial and anti-malarial activities of African medicinal plants. Results In total, 200 research articles were identified, a majority of which were studies conducted in Nigeria. The selected research articles constituted 722 independent experiments evaluating 502 plant species. Of the 722 studies, 81.9%, 12.4%, and 5.5% were in vitro, in vivo, and combined in vitro and in vivo, respectively. The most frequently investigated plant species were Azadirachta indica, Zanthoxylum chalybeum, Picrilima nitida, and Nauclea latifolia meanwhile Fabaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Annonaceae, Rubiaceae, Rutaceae, Meliaceae, and Lamiaceae were the most frequently investigated plant families. Overall, 248 (34.3%), 241 (33.4%), and 233 (32.3%) of the studies reported very good, good, and moderate activity, respectively. Alchornea cordifolia, Flueggea virosa, Cryptolepis sanguinolenta, Zanthoxylum chalybeum, and Maytenus senegalensis gave consistently very good activity across the different studies. In all, only 31 (4.3%) of studies involved pure compounds and these had significantly (p = 0.044) higher antiplasmodial activity relative to crude extracts. Out of the 198 plant species tested for toxicity, 52 (26.3%) demonstrated some degree of toxicity, with toxicity most frequently reported with Azadirachta indica and Vernonia amygdalina. These species were equally the most frequently inactive plants reported. The leaves were the most frequently reported toxic part of plants used. Furthermore, toxicity was observed to decrease with increasing antiplasmodial activity. Conclusions Although there are many indigenous plants with considerable antiplasmodial and anti-malarial activity, the progress in the development of new anti-malarial drugs from African medicinal plants is still slothful, with only one clinical trial with Cochlospermum planchonii (Bixaceae) conducted to date. There is, therefore, the need to scale up anti-malarial drug discovery in the African region.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-021-03866-0MalariaMedicinal plantsAntiplasmodial activityAntimalarial activity |
| spellingShingle | Elahe Tajbakhsh Tebit Emmanuel Kwenti Parya Kheyri Saeed Nezaratizade David S. Lindsay Faham Khamesipour Antiplasmodial, antimalarial activities and toxicity of African medicinal plants: a systematic review of literature Malaria Journal Malaria Medicinal plants Antiplasmodial activity Antimalarial activity |
| title | Antiplasmodial, antimalarial activities and toxicity of African medicinal plants: a systematic review of literature |
| title_full | Antiplasmodial, antimalarial activities and toxicity of African medicinal plants: a systematic review of literature |
| title_fullStr | Antiplasmodial, antimalarial activities and toxicity of African medicinal plants: a systematic review of literature |
| title_full_unstemmed | Antiplasmodial, antimalarial activities and toxicity of African medicinal plants: a systematic review of literature |
| title_short | Antiplasmodial, antimalarial activities and toxicity of African medicinal plants: a systematic review of literature |
| title_sort | antiplasmodial antimalarial activities and toxicity of african medicinal plants a systematic review of literature |
| topic | Malaria Medicinal plants Antiplasmodial activity Antimalarial activity |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-021-03866-0 |
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