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Malaria is one of the world’s most severe endemic diseases and due to the emergence of resistance to the currently available medicines, the need for new targets and relevant antimalarial drugs remains acute. The crude extract, four solvent fractions and two isolated compounds from the roots of Echinops hoehnelii were tested for their antimalarial activity using the standard four-day suppressive method in Plasmodium berghei-infected mice. The 80% methanol extract exhibited suppression of 4.6%, 27.8%, 68.5% and 78.7% at dose of 50, 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg respectively. The dichloromethane fraction displayed chemosuppression of 24.9, 33.5 and 43.0% dose of 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg of body weight. Five acetylenicthiophenes were isolated from the dichloromethane fraction of which 5-(penta-1,3-diynyl)-2-(3,4-dihydroxybut-1-ynyl)-thiophene decreased the level of parasitaemia by 43.2% and 50.2% while 5-(penta-1,3-diynyl)-2-(3-chloro-4-acetoxy-but-1-yn)-thiophene suppressed by 18.8% and 32.7% at 50 and 100 mg/kg, respectively. The study confirmed the traditional claim of the plant to treat malaria and could be used as a new lead for the development of antimalarial drugs.

Malaria is one of the three major global public health threats due to a wide spread resistance of the parasites to the standard antimalarial drugs. Considering this growing problem, the ethnomedicinal approach in the search for new antimalarial drugs from plant sources has proven to be more effective and inexpensive. The leaves of Aloe pulcherrima Gilbert and Sebsebe, an endemic Ethiopian plant, are locally used for the treatment of malaria and other infectious diseases. Application of the leaf latex of A. pulcherrima on preparative silica gel TLC led to the isolation of two C-glycosylated anthrones, identified as nataloin (1) and 7-hydroxyaloin (2) by spectroscopic techniques (UV, IR, 1H- and 13C-NMR, HR-ESIMS). Both the latex and isolated compounds displayed antimalarial activity in a dose-independent manner using a four-day suppressive test, with the highest percent suppression of 56.2% achieved at 200 mg/kg/day for 2. The results indicate that both the leaf latex of A. pulcherrima and its two major constituents are endowed with antiplasmodial activities, which support the traditional use of the leaves of the plant for the treatment of malaria.

Malaria is one of the world's most severe endemic diseases and due to the emergence of resistance to the currently available medicines, the need for new targets and relevant antimalarial drugs remains acute. The crude extract, four solvent fractions and two isolated compounds from the roots of Echinops hoehnelii were tested for their antimalarial activity using the standard four-day suppressive method in Plasmodium berghei-infected mice. The 80% methanol extract exhibited suppression of 4.6%, 27.8%, 68.5% and 78.7% at dose of 50, 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg respectively. The dichloromethane fraction displayed chemosuppression of 24.9, 33.5 and 43.0% dose of 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg of body weight. Five acetylenicthiophenes were isolated from the dichloromethane fraction of which 5-(penta-1, 3-diynyl)-2-(3,4-dihydroxybut-1-ynyl)-thiophene decreased the level of parasitaemia by 43.2% and 50.2% while 5-(penta-1,3-diynyl)-2-(3-chloro-4-acetoxy-but-1-yn) -thiophene suppressed by 18.8% and 32.7% at 50 and 100 mg/kg, respectively. The study confirmed the traditional claim of the plant to treat malaria and could be used as a new lead for the development of antimalarial drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaria is one of the three major global public health threats due to a wide spread resistance of the parasites to the standard antimalarial drugs. Considering this growing problem, the ethnomedicinal approach in the search for new antimalarial drugs from plant sources has proven to be more effective and inexpensive. The leaves of Aloe pulcherrima Gilbert and Sebsebe, an endemic Ethiopian plant, are locally used for the treatment of malaria and other infectious diseases. Application of the leaf latex of A. pulcherrima on preparative silica gel TLC led to the isolation of two C-glycosylated anthrones, identified as nataloin (1) and 7-hydroxyaloin (2) by spectroscopic techniques (UV, IR, 1H- and 13C-NMR, HR-ESIMS). Both the latex and isolated compounds displayed antimalarial activity in a dose-independent manner using a four-day suppressive test, with the highest percent suppression of 56.2% achieved at 200 mg/kg/day for 2. The results indicate that both the leaf latex of A. pulcherrima and its two major constituents are endowed with antiplasmodial activities, which support the traditional use of the leaves of the plant for the treatment of malaria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]