Antimalarial activity of herbal extracts used in traditional medicine in Korea

Abstract

Aqueous extracts of 6 traditional Korean medicines used to treat malaria were tested in vitro for their antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum. The EC50 values for the herbal extracts were in the range 1.4-8.1 μg/ml. Significant antimalarial activity was observed with Coptis japonica (EC50=1.4 μg/ml), but it demonstrated no selective toxicity (selectivity=1). In contrast, Kalopanax pictus showed antimalarial activity (EC50=4.6 μg/ml) and higher selective toxicity (>4). This indicated that K. pictus may be potent for a new antimalarial agent. © 2003 Pharmaceutical Society of Japan.