Exploration of antiplasmodial activity in Acalypha wilkesiana Müller Argoviensis, 1866 (family: Euphorbiaceae) and its GC-MS fingerprint

The plant kingdom continues to hold great promise for the eradication of Malaria infection following the challenges of insecticide resistance by the vector mosquito, drug resistance by the parasite, and the development of a vaccine still being a mirage. Acalypha wilkesiana Muller Argoviensis, 1866 (family: Euphorbiaceae) leaves have the ethnopharmacological reputation for use as a remedy against dermal microbial infections in Nigeria. Here, we have studied the antiplasmodial potential of the extract of the leaves of this ornamental plant. Aqueous methanol crude extract (70%) and Prep reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RPHPLC) fractions were tested in vitro against blood stage Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 strain parasites for antiplasmodial activity using the SYBR Green assay. Results obtained were validated through Giemsa stained microscopic blood smeared slides. An IC 50 of < 0.39 μg/ml for fractions of the RPHPLC together with TC 50 of > 100 μg/ml against mammalian HUH-7 cell lines and a HC 50 of > 100 μg/ml against red blood cells indicate a high selectivity of this plant against Plasmodium . This is the first report of the antiplasmodial activity of this plant and a GC-MS fingerprinting of the same, opening the possibilities of identifying novel pharmacophores against the malaria parasite.