Phytochemical and Antiplasmodial Evaluation of Five Colombian Plants with Ethnopharmacological Background of Antimalarial Use

 The study of medicinal plants has made it possible to develop products and drugs for the treatment of different diseases. Several plants in Colombia have a history of popular use for the treatment of malaria. The objective of this work was to provide information on the antiplasmodic and phytochemical activity of five neotropical native plants with a folk use for the treatment of malaria.

 The ethanolic extract of each species was obtained by percolation method and characterized by thin-layer chromatography (TLC), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR). The in vitro antiplasmodial activity was evaluated against Plasmodium falciparum (strain FCR-3, chloroquine-resistant).

 Ethanolic extracts of Ambelania duckey, Cecropia metensis, Cecropia membranacea, and Verbena littoralis showed no activity. However, Curarea toxicofera extract exhibited an IC50 of 7.6 ± 3.9 μg/mL and was classified as moderately active. Most extracts show hemolytic concentration (CH50) > 1000 μg/ mL). A preliminary phytochemical study was carried out using tube analysis, TLC, HPLC, and 1H-NMR. Steroids or triterpenes, and phenolic compounds were detected by TLC in all extracts. These findings were confirmed by characteristic aliphatic and aromatic signals in 1H-NMR spectra, corresponding to triterpenes and phenolics, respectively. Additionally, alkaloids were extracted from C. toxicofera and detected by aromatic signals in 1H-NMR spectra.

 Ethanolic extract of C. toxicofera showed antiplasmodial activity (IC50 of 7.6 ± 3.9 μg/mL); this activity may be due to the bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloids. The ethanol extracts of A. duckey, C. membranacea, C. metensis, and V. littoralis did not present antiplasmodial activity.