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RESEARCH PRODUCT

In Vitro and In Vivo Antimalarial Activity Assays of Seeds from Balanites aegyptiaca: Compounds of the Extract Show Growth Inhibition and Activity against Plasmodial Aminopeptidase

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Balanites aegyptiaca(Balanitaceae) is a widely grown desert plant with multiuse potential. In the present paper, a crude extract fromB. aegyptiacaseeds equivalent to a ratio of 1 : 2000 seeds to the extract was screened for antiplasmodial activity. The determined IC50value for the chloroquine-susceptiblePlasmodium falciparumNF54 strain was 68.26 . Analysis of the extract by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry detected 6-phenyl-2(H)-1,2,4-triazin-5-one oxime, an inhibitor of the parasitic M18 Aspartyl Aminopeptidase as one of the compounds which is responsible for thein vitroantiplasmodial activity. The crude plant extract had a of 2.35  and showed a dose-dependent response. After depletion of the compound, a significantly lower inhibition was determined with a of 4.8 . Moreover, two phenolic compounds, that is, 2,6-di-tert-butyl-phenol and 2,4-di-tert-butyl-phenol, with determined IC50values of 50.29  and 47.82 , respectively, were detected. These compounds may contribute to thein vitroantimalarial activity due to their antioxidative properties. In anin vivoexperiment, treatment of BALB/c mice with the aqueousBalaniteextract did not lead to eradication of the parasites, although a reduced parasitemia at day 12 p.i. was observed.