• Shoeb Ahmad

Herbal extracts of Piper nigrum (PN), Zingiber officinalis (ZO) and Ocimum sanctum (OC) are known as hepato protective and fever-reducing drugs since ancient time and they have been used regularly by the people in almost all over the world. Methanolic extracts of these two plants were tested in vitro on choloroquine sensitive (MRC-pf-20) strain of Plasmodium falciparum for their anti-malarial activity. Growth inhibition was determined using different concentrations of these plant extracts on synchronized P. falciparum cultures at the ring stage. The interactions between these three plant extracts and individually with curcumin were studied in vitro. The in vivo toxicity of the plant derived compounds as well as their parasite stage-specificity was studied. The 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of PN (7.05 μg/ml) was found better than OS (7.1 μg/ml) and ZO (15.31 μg/ml). Combination of these herbal drugs showed substantial enhancement in their antimalarial activity. Combinatorial effect of each of these with curcumin also revealed anti-malarial effect. Additive interaction between the plant extracts (PN + ZO, PN+OS and ZO+OS) and their individual synergism with curcumin (PN+CUR, ZO+CUR and OS+CUR) were evident from this study. Increased in vivo potency was also observed with the combination of plant extracts over the individual extracts and curcumin. Both the plant extracts were found to inhibit the ring stage of the parasite and did not show any in vivo toxicity, whether used in isolation or in combination. These thre plant extracts in combination with curcumin could be an effective, alternative source of herbal anti-malarial drugs.

Malaria; Plasmodium; drug resistance; combination therapy; Piper nigrum, Zingiber officinalis, Ocimum sanctum

"Evaluation of Active Ingredients of Piper nigrum, Zingiber officinalis and Ocimum sanctum synergistically with Curcumin as Anti-Malarial Therapeutic Agent", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.5, Issue 12, page no.132-157, December-2018, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIRS006020.pdf

"Evaluation of Active Ingredients of Piper nigrum, Zingiber officinalis and Ocimum sanctum synergistically with Curcumin as Anti-Malarial Therapeutic Agent", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.5, Issue 12, page no. pp132-157, December-2018, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIRS006020.pdf