Ethanol Extracts from Thai Plants have Anti-Plasmodium and Anti-Toxoplasma Activities In Vitro

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Purpose: The ethanol extracts from seven Thai plants, Kaempferia parviflora, Stemona tuberosa Lour., Ananas comosus, Punica granatum, Musa sapientum L., Pseuderanthemum palatiferum and Annona muricata L., which are traditionally used in Thailand to support human health, were evaluated for their anti-Plasmodium and anti-Toxoplasma activities, and for their cytotoxicities against human foreskin fibroblasts in vitro. Results: The K. parviflora, P. palatiferum and A. muricata extracts were active against P. falciparum (3D7) with selectivity index (SI) values > 10, while their half maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) were 28.7 µg/ml, 78.8 µg/ml and 46.1 µg/ml, respectively. Extracts from K. parviflora and M. sapientum (ripe fruit peel) inhibited T. gondii (RH) growth with IC50 values of 53.5 µg/ml and 90.4 µg/ml, respectively. The SI values of the extracts from K. parviflora and M. sapientum (ripe fruit peel) were 9.0 and 10.8, respectively. Conclusion: Our data show that some of the aforementioned ethanol extracts are potential sources of new drugs to treat Plasmodium and Toxoplasma infections. © 2019, Witold Stefański Institute of Parasitology, Polish Academy of Sciences.