Elsevier

Journal of Ethnopharmacology

Volume 108, Issue 1, 3 November 2006, Pages 155-157
Journal of Ethnopharmacology

Ethnopharmacological communication
Simalikalactone D is responsible for the antimalarial properties of an amazonian traditional remedy made with Quassia amara L. (Simaroubaceae)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2006.04.017Get rights and content

Abstract

French Guiana (North-East Amazonia) records high malaria incidence rates. The traditional antimalarial remedy most widespread there is a simple tea made out from Quassia amara L. leaves (Simaroubaceae). This herbal tea displays an excellent antimalarial activity both in vitro and in vivo. A known quassinoid, simalikalactone D (SkD), was identified as the active compound, with an IC50 value of 10 nM against FcB1 Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine resistant strain in vitro. Lastly, it inhibits 50% of Plasmodium yoelii yoelii rodent malaria parasite at 3.7 mg/kg/day in vivo by oral route. These findings confirm the traditional use of this herbal tea.

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Bioguided fractionation by semi-preparative high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and NMR identification

Quassia amara fresh leaves (500 g) were infused in hot water (8 l) for 15 min. Leaves were removed and after cooling, the aqueous layer was extracted with CH2Cl2. Antimalarial activity was retained in the organic phase, which was subjected to a bioguided fractionation process. Simalikalactone D (SkD, HPLC: retention time = 11.4 min) was identified as the active ingredient (yield: 0.01% from fresh leaves). NMR spectra (Bruker DR× 400 spectrometer) were identical to those reported previously (Apers et

Biological tests

Cultures of chloroquine-resistant Colombian FcB1 strain of Plasmodium falciparum were carried out according to Trager and Jensen (1976) and tests conducted following the technique extensively described in Bertani et al. (2005). In vivo assays were performed on a chloroquine-resistant rodent malaria strain parasite (Plasmodium yoelii yoelii 17× strain, clone 1.1) with the classical 4-day suppressive test (Peters, 1970). In both cases, chloroquine was used as control.

Results and discussion

French Guiana is located in the North-East of the South American continent, where humid tropical climate brings perfect conditions for persistent transmission of malaria all year long. Although the access to the care system is easy and almost free, people do still use herbal antimalarial remedies, either alone or in combination with modern drugs. In this context, Quassia amara is the Amazonian species with the highest antimalarial reputation for curative and preventive purposes (Vigneron et

Acknowledgements

S. Bertani was awarded a PhD fellowship from the Pierre & Marie Curie University, Paris 6, and the Ministère délégué à la Recherche, France. G. Garavito was awarded a PhD fellowship supported by the Programme Alβan, the European Union Programme of High Level Scholarships for Latin America, scholarship No. E04D039384CO. We thank the staff of the National Reference Centre on Plasmodium Chemoresistance (P. Esterre, E. Legrand and B. Volney, /Institut Pasteur de Guyane/, Cayenne, French Guiana) for

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