A POTENT ANTIMALARIAL ACTIVITY OF HOT-WATER EXTRACTS OF PLANTS BELONGING TO THE FAMILY SAXIFRAGACEAE AGAINST PLASMODIUM YOELII 17XL IN ICR MICE

Hot-water extracts of 7 plants of the family Saxifragaceae; Hydrangea macrophylla var. Otaksa, H. macrophylla, H. macrophylla serrata var. acuminata, H. involucrata, H. hirta, H. paniculata, and Cardiandra alternifolia, were screened for antimalarial activity in ICR mice infected with Plasmodium yoelii 17XL. The leaf extract of H. macrophylla var. Otaksa or H. macrophylla had an antimalarial activity against rodent malaria, showing low parasitemia levels during administration. Following a transient recrudescence of malaria parasites in the bloodstream of treated mice, no parasites could be detected by a microscopic examination. Mice treated with the leaf extract of H. macrophylla var. Otaksa or H. macrophylla survived during the experiment, though mice in the non-treated control and other treated groups died with a gradual body weight loss from day 6 to day 10 post infection. Furthermore, the antimalarial activity of the hot-water extract of H. macrophylla leaf extract seemed higher than that of H. macrophylla var. Otaksa leaf extract in respect of the degree of suppression of parasite multiplication and of mouse body weight loss.