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Objectives: The rapid spread of antimalarial drug resistance is becoming a problem in the treatment of malaria. The fact was indicated the importance of finding new antimalarial drugs. The genus Garcinia is well known to be a rich source of bioactive prenylated xanthones and triterpenes reported for their antimalarial activity. Garcinia parvifolia is one of the Garcinia genera that can be explored for the search of new antimalarial drugs. This study was aimed to determine the antimalarial activities of G. parvifolia extracts and fractions., Methods: Garcinia parvifolia Miq. stem was collected from Balikpapan Botanical Garden in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, was extracted gradually with n-hexane, dichloromethane, and methanol by ultrasonic assisted method. The most active extract was further separated using the open column chromatography method. All extracts and fractions were tested against Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 using lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay and followed by IC 50 determination., Results: The results showed that all extracts inhibit P. falciparum growth by LDH assay. The highest inhibition was showed by dichloromethane stem extract (BP12-S-D) with the IC 50 value of 6.61 ± 0.09 μg/mL. Further fractionation of BP12-S-D has obtained 10 fractions. All of them were identified by TLC, and a brownish-yellow spot (fraction-1) appears after spraying with 10% H 2 SO 4 . Fraction-1 (F1) performed the highest parasite growth inhibition with the IC 50 value of 6.00 ± 0.03 μg/mL compared with other fractions. This fraction was classified as having a promising activity of antimalarial. The fraction-1 was identified using HPLC, and two major peaks were observed (A and B). The UV-Vis spectra showed the absorption at wavelengths 250 and 278 (A), 243, 281, and 317 nm (B). Based on the profile of TLC, HPLC, and UV-Vis spectra of F1, it was expected that the active compounds are flavonoid (A) and xanthone (B)., Conclusions: The fraction-1 of dichloromethane extract of G. parvifolia Miq. stem has the highest antimalarial activity. It might be a potential candidate for the new antimalarial drug., (© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.)

Objectives: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a degenerative brain disease characterized by confusion, behavior changes, decline in memory and cognitive skills. One of the strategies in the treatment of AD is to use acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors. The current study aims to determine the AChE inhibitory activities of the extract and fractions of the root of Rauvolfia serpentina ., Methods: Extraction was carried out by maceration method using ethanol, followed by liquid-liquid partition using n -hexane, ethyl acetate and n -butanol. Further fractionation was conducted by using vacuum liquid chromatography (VLC). The AChE inhibitory assays were performed by using Ellmann's method. Phytochemical screening was carried out by TLC method., Results: The ethanolic extract of R. serpentina showed inhibition against AChE enzyme with an IC 50 value of 7.46 μg/mL. The extract and fractions showed higher inhibition against butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) compared to AChE. Amongst three fractions obtained, the n -butanol fraction showed the strongest inhibition with an IC 50 value of 5.99 μg/mL against AChE. VLC fractionation of the n -butanol fraction yielded 13 subfractions (VLC 1-VLC 13). Four out of 13 subfractions gave more than 80% inhibition against AChE, namely subfractions 4-7, with IC 50 values ranging from 4.87 to 47.22 μg/mL. The phytochemical screening of these subfractions suggested the presence of alkaloids., Conclusions: The ethanolic extract, as well as fractions of R. serpentina root, are potential for AChE inhibitor. The alkaloid compound may be responsible for this activity., (© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.)

Objectives: The use of standard antimalarial drugs, such as dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DHP) for the treatment of malaria during pregnancy is limited due to the risk of teratogenicity. The alternative is therefore required although few exist. Here we show a phytopharmaceutical drug derived from Andrographis paniculata (AS201-01), which is effective as herbal antimalarial both in vitro and in vivo and may be a suitable alternative when used in complementary treatment with DHP., Methods: Plasmodium berghei infected pregnant BALB/c mice were divided into four groups: G1 (negative control), G2 (AS201-01), G3 (DHP), and G4 (combination of DHP and AS201-01). Pheripheral blood was collected during therapy for counting parasitemia. Placental samples were analyzed for the expression of IFN-γ, TNF- α, IL-10, placental parasite counts and foetal morphology., Results: Groups G4 and G3 both showed a 100% inhibition of peripheral parasitemia. However, the treatment in G4 was found to be less effective than that in G2 and G3 in preventing placental parasitemia. The G4 treatment was able to reduce the expression of IFN-γ and IL-10, whereas TNF-α was not significantly different from the control group. Foetal morphologic abnormalities were observed in all groups except G2; G4 showed lower percentage of abnormalities compared to G3 and G1., Conclusions: A combination of A. paniculata tablet (AS201-01) with DHP has the potential to reduce the toxicity of DHP in malaria treatment., (© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.)