Biological activities of plant extracts from and : An antimalarial, antitrypanosomal and cytotoxity evaluation.

The cytotoxic, antiplasmodial, and antitrypanosomal activities of two medicinal plants traditionally used in Cameroon were evaluated. Wood of Roxb. ex Hornem. aerial roots (Moraceae) and Spring (Selaginellaceae) leaves were collected from two different sites in Cameroon. cell-growth inhibition activities were assessed on methanol extract of plant materials against strain 3D7 and , as well as against HeLa human cervical carcinoma cells. Criteria for activity were an IC value < 10 μg/mL. The extract of did not significantly reduce the viability of at a concentration of 25 μg/mL but dramatically affected the trypanosome growth with an IC of 2.4 μg/mL. In contrast, at the same concentration, the extract of exhibited plasmodiacidal activity (IC value of 9.5 μg/mL) and trypanocidal (IC value of 0.9 μg/mL) activity. Both extracts presented low cytotoxic effects on HeLa cancer cell line. These results indicate that the selected medicinal plants could be further investigated for identifying compounds that may be responsible for the observed activities and that may represent new leads in parasitical drug discovery.