In-vitro studies on the sensitivity pattern of Plasmodium falciparum to antimalarial drugs and local herbal extracts
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The resistance of human malaria parasites to antimalarial compounds has become of considerable concern, particularly in view
of the shortage of novel classes of antimalarial drugs. One way to prevent resistance is by using new compounds that are not
based on existing synthetic antimicrobial agents. Sensitivity of one hundred (100) P. falciparum isolates to chloroquine, quinine,
amodiaquine, mefloquine, sulphadoxine/pyrimethamine, artemisinin, Momordicacharantia (Ejirin) Diospyrosmonbuttensis
(Eeguneja) and Morindalucida (Oruwo) was determined using the in-vitro microtest (Mark III) technique to determine the IC50
of the drugs. All the isolates tested were sensitive to quinine, mefloquine and artesunate. Only 51% of the isolates were resistant
to chloroquine, 13% to amodiaquine and 5% to sulphadoxinepyrimethamine respectively. Highest resistance to chloroquine
(68.9%) was recorded among isolates from Yewa zone while highest resistance to amodiaquine (30%) was observed in Ijebu zone.
Highest resistance to sulphadoxine and pyrimethamine was recorded in Yewa and Egba zones respectively. A significant positive
correlation was observed between the responses to artemisinin and mefloquine (P=0.001), artemisinin and quinine (P=0.05),
quinine and mefloquine (P=0.01). A significant negative correlation was observed between the responses to chloroquine and
mefloquine (P=0.05). Highest antiplasmodial activity was obtained with the ethanolic extract of Diospyrosmon buttensis (IC50=32
μg/ml) while the lowest was obtained from Morinda lucida (IC50=250 μg/ml). Natural products isolated from plants used in
traditional medicine, which have potent antiplasmodial action in vitro, represents potential sources of new antimalarial drugs.
Keywords
QR Microbiology