Harnessing Indonesian natural products against neglected tropical diseases: Malaria.
Nugraha AS, Nawiyanto, Muhyidin A, Qonitah ZN, Anggraeni BA, Triatmoko B, Pratama ANW, Keller PA, Siregar JE, Khasanah U, Wangchuk P.
Medicinal Plants
Tropical plants your botanical garden labels as 'ornamental' may be quietly holding chemistry that outcompetes modern pharmaceuticals — and Indigenous communities have been using them for generations.
Scientists looked at hundreds of plants that Indonesian communities have used for centuries to treat malaria — the mosquito-borne disease that still kills hundreds of thousands of people a year. They found that 17 of these plant species contained specific compounds so powerful they could kill the malaria parasite at doses far smaller than the leading drug currently used. Some of these plants have barely been studied by modern science, meaning there could be even more medicinal treasure waiting to be discovered.
Key Findings
208 Indonesian medicinal plants were documented with traditional antimalarial use; 61 species had crude extracts scientifically tested against malaria parasites in the lab.
Four compounds — samaradine X, norcaesalpinin E, methyl 15-acetoxylansiolate, and dehatrine — showed potent activity at nanomolar doses, with samaradine X (IC50 = 14 nM) being roughly 20 times more potent than chloroquine (IC50 = 290 nM).
Only 17 of the 208 documented plants have undergone detailed chemical analysis, suggesting the vast majority of these traditional remedies remain scientifically unexplored.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Indonesian researchers reviewed 208 traditional medicinal plants used by Indigenous communities to treat malaria, finding several compounds from these plants that outperform the standard drug chloroquine in killing the malaria parasite in lab tests.
Abstract Preview
<h4>Ethnopharmacological relevance</h4>The Indigenous peoples of Indonesia possess a long-standing tradition of combating tropical infectious diseases, particularly malaria. Over generations, exten...
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