Ethnopharmacological assessement of Guibourtia Coleosperma and Diospyros Chamaethamnus extracts as elaternative treatment options for Malaria
type: CreativeWork
description: Malaria, a parasitic infectious disease, remains one of the world’s foremost health concerns, even more so in developing countries. Much progress has been made in fighting the disease, particularly in Southern Africa where four countries (Namibia included) have targeted malaria elimination by 2020. Challenges such as the absence of a vaccine, resistance to insecticides, and particularly the emergence of resistance to current antimalarial treatment regimens threaten to undermine the current successes in malaria control efforts. Secondly, the lack of access and acceptance of conventional antimalarial treatment by populations in malaria endemic areas reduces the feasibility of eliminating and consequently eradicating malaria. Local communities in Namibia use plant-based medicines to treat malaria and malaria associated symptoms based on traditional observations or beliefs over decades. As to whether these plants are efficacious for the indication and cause toxicity is yet to be validated scientifically. The aims of this study were, therefore, to evaluate the biological activities of the extracts of two Namibian plant species to provide a scientific rationale for their traditional uses. Guibourtia coleosperma and Diospyros chamaethamnus, which are used to alleviate symptoms of malaria in Namibia, were investigated using phytochemical analyses, and in vitro and in vivo bioassays. Extracts were prepared by using solvent extraction of varying polarities to obtain a wide range of metabolites. Ground plant material was macerated in distilled water (aqueous extracts) and dichloromethane-methanol (1:1v/v) (organic extracts) respectively. The extracts were dried in vacuo, and examined for six classes of compounds known to have antiplasmodial activity using TLC. GC-MS was used to identify compounds in the plant extracts related to biological activity, using a BP5MS column. Radical scavenging abilities of the plant extracts were ascertained by the 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (D…
abstract: Malaria, a parasitic infectious disease, remains one of the world’s foremost health concerns, even more so in developing countries. Much progress has been made in fighting the disease, particularly in Southern Africa where four countries (Namibia included) have targeted malaria elimination by 2020. Challenges such as the absence of a vaccine, resistance to insecticides, and particularly the emergence of resistance to current antimalarial treatment regimens threaten to undermine the current successes in malaria control efforts. Secondly, the lack of access and acceptance of conventional antimalarial treatment by populations in malaria endemic areas reduces the feasibility of eliminating and consequently eradicating malaria. Local communities in Namibia use plant-based medicines to treat malaria and malaria associated symptoms based on traditional observations or beliefs over decades. As to whether these plants are efficacious for the indication and cause toxicity is yet to be validated scientifically. The aims of this study were, therefore, to evaluate the biological activities of the extracts of two Namibian plant species to provide a scientific rationale for their traditional uses. Guibourtia coleosperma and Diospyros chamaethamnus, which are used to alleviate symptoms of malaria in Namibia, were investigated using phytochemical analyses, and in vitro and in vivo bioassays. Extracts were prepared by using solvent extraction of varying polarities to obtain a wide range of metabolites. Ground plant material was macerated in distilled water (aqueous extracts) and dichloromethane-methanol (1:1v/v) (organic extracts) respectively. The extracts were dried in vacuo, and examined for six classes of compounds known to have antiplasmodial activity using TLC. GC-MS was used to identify compounds in the plant extracts related to biological activity, using a BP5MS column. Radical scavenging abilities of the plant extracts were ascertained by the 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (D…
author: Du Preez, Iwanette C.
language: en
keywords: Medicinal plants, Malaria, Diospyros chamaethamnus, Antimalaria compounds
date published: 2016
date modified: 2026-07-27T20:21:53Z
provider: University of Namibia
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Namibia

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/11070/1956