Exploration of Anti-plasmodial Activity of Prunus cerasoides Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don (family: Rosaceae) and Its Wood Chromatographic Fractions

Purpose Increasing resistance to the currently available antimalarial drugs is a leading cause of failure to control malaria. Plant-based medicines are commonly used to manage numerous infections, making medicinal plants the best possible source of alternative antimalarial drugs. The objective of this study is therefore to identify antimalarial potential of Prunus cerasoides . Methods Here, anti-plasmodial activity of crude methanolic and aqueous extracts of Prunus cerasoides and fractions obtained by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RPHPLC) were tested for in vitro activity against chloroquine sensitive Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 and chloroquine resistant INDO & Dd2 strains using SYBR Green I assay. The cytotoxic activity of active extracts/fractions was evaluated against mammalian cell lines-HeLa using MTT assay. Results Aqueous extracts of leaves, wood, bark and fruit of P. cerasoides showed poor to no activity up to 100 µg/ml, however methanolic extract showed moderate (IC 50 : 21–60 µg/ml) to poor (IC 50 : 61–100 µg/ml) anti-plasmodial activity. Fractionation of wood methanolic extract led to enrichment in antimalarial activity in some of its fractions as out of 17 fractions collected, good anti-plasmodial activity (IC 50 : 1–20 µg/ml) was shown by three fractions and nine fractions showed moderate anti-plasmodial activity. However, five fractions showed poor to no activity against Plasmodium falciparum (IC 50 :61–100 and >100 µg/ml respectively). Furthermore, these active fractions showed no cytotoxic effects on mammalian cell lines. Conclusion Findings of this study elucidate the anti-plasmodial potential of P. cerasoides and validate its traditional usage suggesting that it could be a possible source of a drug candidate in combating this disease.