Anti-Malarial Activity And Phytochemical Studies Of Cissampelos Mucronata And Stephania Abyssinica

ABSTRACT

Malaria remains the most important public health problem in the tropics. Each year, about 500,000,000 and 2,700,000 malaria cases and related deaths, respectively, are reported globally with Africa accounting for 90%. In Kenya, more than 4 million people are infected annually, the majority being children under five years and pregnant women. The disease is caused by parasites in the genus Plasmodium and is transmitted through bites of infected female anopheline mosquito. It is the most serious disease due to its prevalence, virulence and drug resistance. Chemotherapy remains the main strategy in malaria control but has become less effective due to widespread drug resistance, high cost and inadequate armory of drugs for treatment of malaria. Consequently there is need for research and the discovery of new more effective anti-malarial agents with different mode of action. Plants are considered as important sources of lead compounds in drug development owing to their successful use in treatment of various human ailments since antiquity. In search for new anti-malarial principles, bio-evaluation of Cissampelos mucronata and Stephania abyssinica which are used in treatment of malaria by people living in southern Nyanza was undertaken. The crude extracts were sequentially extracted starting with hexane, DCM, EtOAc and MeOH. Isolation of the compounds was done using TLC, CC and PTLC. Identification of the compounds was done by 1H NMR, COSY, 13C NMR, DEPT, HMQC, HMBC, mass and IR spectroscopy. Preliminary activity and cytotoxicity studies were done on Vero cells 199. Extracts were screened against Plasmodium falciparum D6 strain and the following anti-plasmodial activity noted: C. mucronata (hexane: IC50 8.73±1.81 µg/ml, DCM: IC50 10.09±1.56 µg/ml, EtOAc: IC50