Ethnopharmacological communicationSimalikalactone D is responsible for the antimalarial properties of an amazonian traditional remedy made with Quassia amara L. (Simaroubaceae)
Section snippets
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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When local phytotherapies meet biomedicine. Cross-sectional study of knowledge and intercultural practices against malaria in Eastern French Guiana
2021, Journal of EthnopharmacologyCitation Excerpt :Ethnopharmacological works highlighting the therapeutic potential of some of these plants have already been realized in vitro and in vivo. Among all the species presented on the poster, Q. amara has been the most widely and successfully studied, which has led to the isolation of some interesting compounds (Bertani et al, 2006, 2007, 2006; Cachet et al., 2009; Houël et al., 2009). C. citratus is also a well-studied species and its essential oil has moderate activity against P. falciparum (IC50: 48 μg/mL) (Kpoviessi et al., 2014; Oladeji et al., 2019).
Plants used traditionally as antimalarials in Latin America: Mining the tree of life for potential new medicines
2021, Journal of EthnopharmacologyEmerging therapeutic modalities against malaria
2021, Translational Biotechnology: A Journey from Laboratory to ClinicsThe historical development of pharmacopoeias and the inclusion of exotic herbal drugs with a focus on Europe and Brazil
2019, Journal of EthnopharmacologyCitation Excerpt :Another remarkable example is Quassia amara L., popularly known as ‘Quinquina de Cayenne’, which was widely used as a febrifuge and antimalarial drug in Europe, and included in some European pharmacopoeias such as the Pharmacopoeia of the Royal College of Physicians of London (Healde and Latham, 1793) and the Farmacopea Oficial Española, (6th edition from 1884) as well as in several important medical books (e.g., Gray, 1821; Christison, 1842; Felter and Lloyd, 1898; Cullen, 1789). The extract and derivatives of Q. amara leaves have been proven active against malaria in vivo (Ajaiyeoba et al., 1999; Bertani et al., 2006) and the potent antimalarial and anticancer simalikalactone E has been patented, but accusations of biopiracy are hampering any further development into a pharmaceutical drug (see Bourdy et al. (2017) for a thorough discussion). Q. amara wood is mentioned in the British Herbal Pharmacopoeia from 1996, the British Herbal Compendium from 1992, the 32nd edition of Martindale (The Complete Drug Reference) and the second edition of the Physicians' Desk Reference for Herbal Medicine but it is not included in the Ph. Eur.