Background: Plasmodium falciparum, one of the causative agents of malaria, has high adaptability through mutation and is
resistant to many types of anti-malarial drugs. This study presents an
in vitro assessment of the antiplasmodial activity of
some phenolic compounds isolated from plants of the genus
Allanblackia
.
Methods: Tests were performed on well plates filled with a fixed parasitized erythrocytes volume. Compounds to be tested
were then added in wells. After incubation, tritiated hypoxanthine is added and the plates were returned to the incubator.
After thawing, the nucleic acids are collected. Inhibitory Concentration 50 (IC50) was determined by linear interpolation.
Results: From
Allanblackia floribunda
, have been isolated and characterized 1,7-dihydroxyxanthone 1, macluraxanthone 4,
morelloflavone 9, Volkensiflavone 10 and morelloflavone 7-O-glucoside 11; from Allanblackia monticola, α-mangosine
2, rubraxanthone 3, allaxanthone C 5, norcowanine 6 , tovophiline A 7, allaxanthone B 8 and from
Allanblackia gabonensis
,
1,7-dihydroxyxanthone 1. Six of them were evaluated for their antimalarial properties. The most active compound, macluraxanthone,
presented a very interesting activity, with an IC50 of 0.36 and 0.27 μg/mL with the F32 and FcM29 strains
respectively.
Conclusion: This work confirms that species of
Allanblackia genus are medicinally important plants containing many biologically
active compounds that can be used effectively as antiplasmodial.
