In vitro Antimalarial Activity of Ajuga remota Benth (Labiatae)

  • K. A.M. KURIA
  • K. O. ABUGA
  • W. C. MASENG
  • C. K. GOVAERT
  • E. K. ROETS2
  • R. K. BUSSON
  • P. J DE WITTE
  • I. G ZUPKO
  • G. J HOORNAERT
  • J. M. HOOGMARTENS
  • G. M. LAEKEMAN
Keywords: Ajuga remota, in vitro antimalarial activity, pure isolates.

Abstract

Ajuga remota Benth is the most frequently used plant to treat malaria by Kenyan herbalists. Both crude extracts and pure isolates of the plant were tested for their in vitro antimalarial properties. The activity was assessed by an enzyme assay method based on the measurement of the parasite lactate dehydrogenase activity. The IC50 of the most active A. remota extract (ethanol macerate) was 71 and 69 μg/ml against the chloroquine sensitive (FCA/20GHA) and resistant (W2) strains of Plasmodium falciparum respectively. Ajugarin-1 was moderately active with IC50 of 23.0 ± 3.0 µM as compared to chloroquine (IC50 = 0.041 ± 0.003 μM) against the chloroquinesensitive strain of Plasmodium falciparum. Ergosterol-5, 8-endoperoxide was about 4x as potent (IC50 = 5.4 ± 1.9 µM) while 8-0- acetylharpagide, a new isolate of A.remota and whose structure was established by spectroscopic evidence, was inactive.

Published
2018-11-08
How to Cite
KURIA, K., ABUGA, K., MASENG, W., GOVAERT, C., ROETS2E., BUSSON, R., DE WITTE, P., ZUPKO, I., HOORNAERT, G., HOOGMARTENS, J., & LAEKEMAN, G. (2018). In vitro Antimalarial Activity of Ajuga remota Benth (Labiatae). The East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 6(2), 26-30. Retrieved from https://uonjournals.uonbi.ac.ke/ojs/index.php/ecajps/article/view/5
Issue
Vol 6 No 2 (2003): May-August 2003
Section
Articles