In Vitro Antiplasmodial and Cytotoxic Activities of Compounds from the Roots of Eriosema montanum Baker f. (Fabaceae)

Malaria remains one of the leading causes of death in sub-Saharan Africa, ranked in thetop three infectious diseases in the world. Plants of theEriosemagenus have been reported to beused for the treatment of this disease, but scientific evidence is still missing for some of them. Inthe present study, thein vitroantiplasmodial activity of the crude extract and compounds fromEriosema montanum Baker f.roots were tested against the 3D7 strain ofPlasmodium falciparumandrevealed using the SYBR Green, a DNA intercalating compound. The cytotoxicity effect of thecompounds on a human cancer cell line (THP-1) was assessed to determine their selectivity index.It was found that the crude extract of the plant displayed a significant antiplasmodial activitywith anIC50(μg/mL) = 17.68±4.030and a cytotoxic activity with a CC50(μg/mL) = 101.5±12.6,corresponding to a selective antiplasmodial activity of 5.7. Bioactivity-guided isolation of the majorcompounds of the roots’ crude extract afforded seven compounds, including genistein, genistin andeucomic acid. Under our experimental conditions, using Artemisinin as a positive control, eucomicacid showed the best inhibitory activity against theP. falciparum3D7, a well-known chloroquine-sensitive strain. The present results provide a referential basis to support the traditional use ofEriosemaspecies in the treatment of malaria.