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Planta Med 2019; 85(13): 1073-1079
DOI: 10.1055/a-0973-0067
Biological and Pharmacological Activity
Original Papers
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Anti-plasmodial Effects of Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides

Christopher Dean Goodman‡
1   School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
,
An Thuy Hoang‡
2   Section for Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
,
Drissa Diallo
3   Department of Traditional Medicine, Bamako, Mali
,
Karl Egil Malterud
2   Section for Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
,
Geoffrey I. McFadden‡
1   School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
,
Helle Wangensteen‡
2   Section for Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

received 05 February 2019
revised 21 June 2019

accepted 30 June 2019

Publication Date:
31 July 2019 (online)

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Abstract

Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides, syn. Fagara zanthoxyloides, is a tree growing in West Africa and is used in traditional medicine against a variety of diseases, including malaria. In the work reported here, root bark and stem bark extracts of this tree, as well as compounds isolated from the extracts, have been investigated for activity in vitro against chloroquine-sensitive and chloroquine-resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum. In addition, toxicity against nauplii of the brine shrimp Artemia salina has been studied. Dichloromethane extracts of the root bark and stem bark, and a methanol extract of the stem bark, showed anti-parasitic activity towards chloroquine-sensitive as well as chloroquine-resistant P. falciparum, with IC50 values between 1 and 10 µg/mL. Among the isolated compounds, bis-dihydrochelerythrinyl ether, buesgenine, chelerythrine, γ-fagarine, skimmianine, and pellitorine were the most active, with IC50 values of less than 5 µg/mL. The dichloromethane extracts were toxic to brine shrimp nauplii, with LC50 values of less than 1 µg/mL. Methanol extracts were much less toxic (LC50 between 50 and 100 µg/mL). Among the isolated substances, bis-dihydrochelethrinyl ether was the most toxic (LC50 ca. 2 µg/mL).

Key words

anti-malaria - Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides - Rutaceae - alkaloids

Supporting Information

    Chemical structures (Figs. 1S–20S), NMR data of the isolated compounds with reference to literature values (Tables 1S–20S), mass spectrometric data (Table 21S), and dose-response curves (Figs. 21S and 22S) are available as Supporting Information.

  • Supporting Information
 

  • References

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