TY - JOUR
T1 - Activity of herbal medicines on Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes
T2 - Implications for Malaria transmission in Ghana
AU - Amoah, Linda Eva
AU - Kakaney, Courage
AU - Kwansa-Bentum, Bethel
AU - Kusi, Kwadwo Asamoah
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Amoah et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
PY - 2015/11/1
Y1 - 2015/11/1
N2 - Background: Malaria still remains a major health issue in Ghana despite the introduction of Artemisininbased combination therapy (ACT) coupled with other preventative measures such as the use of insecticide treated nets (ITNs). The global quest for eradication of malaria has heightened the interest of identifying drugs that target the sexual stage of the parasite, referred to as transmission-blocking drugs. This study aimed at assessing the efficacy and gametocydal effects of some commonly used herbal malaria products in Ghana. Methodology/Principal Findings: After identifying herbal anti-malarial products frequently purchased on the Ghanaian market, ten of them were selected and lyophilized. In vitro drug sensitivity testing of different concentrations of the herbal products was carried out on asexual and in vitro generated gametocytes of the 3D7 strain of Plasmodium falciparum. The efficacies of the products were assessed by microscopy. Cultures containing low dose of RT also produced the least number of late stage gametocytes. Two of the herbal products CM and RT inhibited the growth of late stage gametocytes by > 80% at 100 μ/ml whilst KG was the most inhibitory to early stage gametocytes at that same concentration. However at 1 μ/ml, only YF significantly inhibited the survival of late stage gametocytes although at that same concentration YF barely inhibited the survival of early stage gametocytes. Conclusions/Significance: Herbal product RT (Aloe schweinfurthii, Khaya senegalensis, Piliostigma thonningii and Cassia siamea) demonstrated properties of a highly efficacious gametocydal product. Low dose of herbal product RT exhibited the highest gametocydal activity and at 100 μ/ml, RT exhibited >80% inhibition of late stage gametocytes. However inhibition of asexual stage parasite by RT was not optimal. Improving the asexual inhibition of RT could convert RT into an ideal antimalarial herbal product. We also found that generally C. sanguinolenta containing herbal products exhibited gametocydal activity in addition to high asexual efficacy. Herbal products with high gametocydal activity can help in the fight to reduce malaria transmission.
AB - Background: Malaria still remains a major health issue in Ghana despite the introduction of Artemisininbased combination therapy (ACT) coupled with other preventative measures such as the use of insecticide treated nets (ITNs). The global quest for eradication of malaria has heightened the interest of identifying drugs that target the sexual stage of the parasite, referred to as transmission-blocking drugs. This study aimed at assessing the efficacy and gametocydal effects of some commonly used herbal malaria products in Ghana. Methodology/Principal Findings: After identifying herbal anti-malarial products frequently purchased on the Ghanaian market, ten of them were selected and lyophilized. In vitro drug sensitivity testing of different concentrations of the herbal products was carried out on asexual and in vitro generated gametocytes of the 3D7 strain of Plasmodium falciparum. The efficacies of the products were assessed by microscopy. Cultures containing low dose of RT also produced the least number of late stage gametocytes. Two of the herbal products CM and RT inhibited the growth of late stage gametocytes by > 80% at 100 μ/ml whilst KG was the most inhibitory to early stage gametocytes at that same concentration. However at 1 μ/ml, only YF significantly inhibited the survival of late stage gametocytes although at that same concentration YF barely inhibited the survival of early stage gametocytes. Conclusions/Significance: Herbal product RT (Aloe schweinfurthii, Khaya senegalensis, Piliostigma thonningii and Cassia siamea) demonstrated properties of a highly efficacious gametocydal product. Low dose of herbal product RT exhibited the highest gametocydal activity and at 100 μ/ml, RT exhibited >80% inhibition of late stage gametocytes. However inhibition of asexual stage parasite by RT was not optimal. Improving the asexual inhibition of RT could convert RT into an ideal antimalarial herbal product. We also found that generally C. sanguinolenta containing herbal products exhibited gametocydal activity in addition to high asexual efficacy. Herbal products with high gametocydal activity can help in the fight to reduce malaria transmission.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84955494780&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0142587
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0142587
M3 - Article
C2 - 26562778
AN - SCOPUS:84955494780
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 10
JO - PLoS ONE
JF - PLoS ONE
IS - 11
M1 - e0142587
ER -