Valorization of Carapa procera Oil and Evaluation in vitro of Antimalarial Activity of Its Bitter Content

Aims: To extract the bitter content of Carapa procera oil and to evaluate the antimalarial activity of its bitter content. Study Design:  Experimental research. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Chemistry (University of Kinshasa) and National Institute for Biomedical Research, between December 2016 and June 2018. Methodology: The seeds of C. procera were collected in the Kwilu region (Democratic Republic of Congo). A standardized method of Soxhlet was used for the extraction and determination of the oil content. The bitter content of C. procera oil was removed by liquid-liquid extraction. Organoleptic sensory analyzes have used a test of the effectiveness of debittering. The in vitro antimalarial activity of bitter content, extracts, crude oil and the debittered oil on Plasmodium falciparum were evaluated according to the method of maturation test of trophozoites into schizonts. Results: Quality indexes such as acid values (12.72 and 2.72 mg KOH/g), saponification values (190.36 and 193.12 mg KOH/g), peroxide values (5.26 and 19.66 meq O2/Kg), and iodine values (69.09 and 68.63 g I2/100 g) was determined for crude oil and debittered oil respective antimalarial activity was evaluated. Crude oil and bitter content showed respectively significant antimalarial activity with IC50 values of 3.44 and 0.30 µg/mL. Conclusion: The elimination of the bitter content does not affect the quality of C. procera oil. These results were, for the most part, in accordance with the codex alimentarius for edible oils. Concerning the antimalarial activity, according to RITAM, C. procera crude oil could present probable antimalarial activity against P. falciparum (3.44 μg/mL), low value compared to that of the bitter content.