Abstract

IN VITRO ANTIPROTOZOAL ACTIVITY OF FIVE PLANT EXTRACTS FROM ALBAHA REGION

Nasser A. Awadh Ali*, Saeed S. Al-Sokari, Ramzi Mothana, Mahmoud Hamed,
Mohamed Wagih, Paul Cos, and Louis Maes

Abstract

Five methanol extracts obtained from five plant species selected according ethnobotanical data were screened for their antiprotozoal activity against Plasmodium falciparum, Leishmania infantum, Trypanosoma cruzi and Trypanosoma brucei. Cytotoxicity was evaluated on MRC-5 cells. Withania somnifera methanol extract showed low activity against P. falciparum (IC50 17.7 μg ml-1), but with non-selective antimalarial activity. Most of the extracts tested against L. infantum exhibited low activity with IC50 ranging from 20 to 32 μg ml-1, except W. somnifera which showed a remarkable but non-selective leishmanicidal activity (IC50 of 2.0 μg ml-1). W. somnifera methanol extract also exhibited a marked activity against T cruzi (IC50 0.6 μg ml-1, SI=3.5).

Keywords: In vitro, Plasmodium, Leishmania, Trypanosoma; cytotoxicity; plant extracts.