Search for antimalarial compounds from Pycnanthus angolensis

Malaria is one of the most important infectious diseases in underdeveloped countries, particularly in Africa. [1, 2, 3] It affects about 500 million people each year, leading to 1.5 million deaths per year. [2, 3] Multi-resistance to most antimalarials in use is now wide spread, while the cost of effective treatment, through different antimalarial drug combinations, is prohibitive for the majority of the affected populations. [4] Plants used in traditional medicine are one major potential source for new antimalarial compounds. The recognition and validation of traditional medicine practices as well as the search for natural antimalarial compounds could lead to new strategies for malaria control. The species Pycnanthus angolensis (Myristicaceae) is described to be used by traditional healers of São Tomé and Príncipe islands for the treatment of malaria and fever. [5] Beside its use in traditional medicine against malaria and fever, it is also used in the cure of oral thrust, fungal skin infections, shingles, chest pain and headaches. [6, 7] The only reported compounds isolated from this species include allantoin, flavonoids, dihydroguaiaretic acid and pycnanthuquinones A, B and C. [6, 7, 8] A previous study demonstrated that the crude ethanolic extract of the bark of Pycnanthus angolensis had evident antiplasmodial activity against chloroquine resistant Plasmodium falciparum. [5] In this communication we present a bioguided phytochemical study of this species and the results regarding the antimalarial in vitro tests against two strains of Plasmodium falciparum, 3D7-chloroquine sensitive and Dd2-chloroquine resistant, for the extracts, fractions and isolated compounds.