and Antimalarial Activities and Toxicological Assessment of (Blanco) Benth.

The aim of this study was to investigate the antimalarial activities and toxicity of extracts. activities against the chloroquine-resistant K1 strain were assessed by using the lactate dehydrogenase enzyme (pLDH) assay, while activity against the ANKA strain in mice was investigated using a 4-day suppressive test. The and toxicity were determined in Vero cells and mice, respectively. The ethanolic extract possessed antimalarial activity with an IC of 24.49 ± 0.01 µg/ml, whereas the aqueous extract showed an IC of 549.30 ± 0.07 µg/ml. Cytotoxic analyses of the ethanolic and aqueous extracts revealed a nontoxic effect on Vero cells at a concentration of 80 µg/ml. Based on a preliminary study of antimalarial activity, the ethanolic extract was chosen as a potential agent for further antimalarial activity analysis in mice. The ethanolic extract, which showed no toxic effect on mice at a dose of 2000 mg/kg body weight, significantly suppressed parasitemia in mice by 38.41%, 45.12% and 89.00% at doses of 200, 400 and 600 mg/kg body weight, respectively. In conclusion, this study shows that the ethanolic extract possesses and antimalarial activity without toxic effects.