Europe PMC · 2026-04-16
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.
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.