Antimalarials from nature

This review discusses the medicinal plant Phyllanthus niruri Linn. (Euphorbiaceae), its wide variety of phytochemicals and their pharmacological properties. The active phytochemicals, flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, lignans, polyphenols, tannins, coumarins and saponins, have been identified from various parts of P. niruri. Extracts of this herb have been proven to have therapeutic effects in many clinical studies. Some of the most intriguing therapeutic properties include anti-hepatotoxic, anti-lithic, anti-hypertensive, anti-HIV and anti-hepatitis B. Therefore, studies relating to chemical characteristics and structural properties of the bioactive phytochemicals found in P. niruri are very useful for further research on this plant as many of the phytochemicals have shown preclinical therapeutic efficacies for a wide range of human diseases, including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B.

Phytochemicals from Phyllanthus niruri Linn. and their pharmacological properties: a review

Canine babesiosis is a clinically significant emerging vector-borne disease caused by protozoan haemoparasites. This review article considers recent literature pertaining to the taxonomic classification of Babesia and Theileria species affecting dogs and the geographical distribution of these parasites. The diagnosis of canine babesiosis by traditional, molecular and serological methods is reviewed, together with recent advances in our understanding of the pathophysiology of piroplasmosis, and of the treatment and prevention of this disease.

/pdf/canine-babesiosis-from-molecular-taxonomy-to-control-1qb6ik1i3g.pdf

Canine babesiosis: from molecular taxonomy to control

Jamu: Indonesian traditional herbal medicine towards rational phytopharmacological use

OBJECTIVES: This review covers the compounds with antiplasmodial activity isolated from plants published from 2005 to the end of 2008, organized according to their phytochemical classes. Details are given for substances with IC50 values </= 11 mum. KEY FINDINGS: Malaria is a major parasitic disease in many tropical and subtropical regions and is responsible for more than 1 million deaths each year in Africa. The rapid spread of resistance encourages the search for new active compounds. Nature and particularly plants used in traditional medicine are a potential source of new antimalarial drugs as they contain molecules with a great variety of structures and pharmacological activities. SUMMARY: A large number of antimalarial compounds with a wide variety of structures have been isolated from plants and can play a role in the development of new antimalarial drugs. Ethnopharmacological approaches appear to be a promising way to find plant metabolites that could be used as templates for designing new derivatives with improved properties.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1211/jpp.61.11.0001

Antimalarial compounds isolated from plants used in traditional medicine.

Bioassay-guided fractionation of boiled aqueous extracts from the whole plant of Phyllanthus niruri led to the isolation of 1-O-galloyl-6-O-luteoyl-alpha-d-glucose (1), with IC(50) values of 4.7 microg/mL against Babesia gibsoni and 1.4 microg/mL against Plasmodium falciparum in vitro. The known compounds beta-glucogallin (2), quercetin 3-O-beta-d-glucopyranosyl-(2-->1)-O-beta-d-xylopyranoside (3), beta-sitosterol, and gallic acid were also isolated. Structures of these compounds were elucidated on the basis of their chemical and spectroscopic data.

Anti-babesial and anti-plasmodial compounds from Phyllanthus niruri.

Twenty-four kinds of water extracts derived from 22 plants that are traditionally used for the treatment of malaria on Java Island, Indonesia, were screened for their antibabesial and antimalarial activities. Among the extracts, 8 extracts displayed strong antimalarial activity, with an inhibition range from 89.6 to 100%, and 15 showed strong antibabesial activity, with an inhibition range from 84.2 to 98.1%. The extracts of Achillea millefolium, Baeckea frutenscens, Brucea javanica, Curcuma xanthorrhiza, Strychnos lucida and Swietenia macrophylla showed both strong antibabesial and antimalarial activities. The antimalarial activities paralleled the antibabesial activities, but the converse was not true.

/pdf/evaluation-of-the-inhibitory-activities-of-the-extracts-of-4ij55sax3c.pdf

Sumiko Kobayashi

Papers

Anti-babesial and anti-plasmodial compounds from Phyllanthus niruri.

Evaluation of the inhibitory activities of the extracts of Indonesian traditional medicinal plants against Plasmodium falciparum and Babesia gibsoni.