Antiplasmodial Activity and Phytochemical Constituents of Selected Antimalarial Plants Used by Native People in West Timor Indonesia.

OBJECTIVES

To document traditional antimalarial plants used by Tetun ethnic people in West Timor Indonesia and evaluate the antiplasmodial activity and phytochemicals of several plants that are widely used as oral medicine.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A field study to document antimalarial plants followed by laboratory works to test antiplasmodial activity and identify the phytochemical constituents of some selected plants extract were applied. The inhibitory potency of ethanolic extracts of wood, roots of , , and , whole plant of and , stem barks of , , and , and leaves of on the 3D7 strain were tested. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry instrument was used to analyze the phytochemicals of the extracts.

RESULTS

The Tetun ethnic people use 50 plant species as antimalarials. , , and extracts show strong antiplasmodial activity with IC values of 0.22, 0.22, and 1.23 μg/mL, respectively; , , , and were moderate antiplasmodials with IC values of 11.60, 15.46, 24.92, and 36.39 μg/mL, respectively; and , , , and were weak antiplasmodials with IC values of 54.25, 63.52, 63.91, and 66.49 μg/mL, respectively. The phytochemicals identification data indicate that these 11 plants contain alkaloids, terpenoids, steroids, coumarins, alcohols, thiols, phenolics, aldehydes, fatty acids, esters, and so forth.

CONCLUSION

Plants widely used as antimalarials by the Tetun ethnic people is proven to have antiplasmodial activity.