In Vitro and In Vivo Antiplasmodial Activity and Cytotoxicity of Water Extracts of Phyllanthus emblica, Terminalia chebula, and Terminalia bellerica
Khosit Pinmai MSc*, Wanwarang Hiriote MSc*, Noppamas Soonthornchareonnon PhD***, Krisada Jongsakul MD****, Seewaboon Sireeratawong PhD**, Siripen Tor-Udom MSc*
Affiliation : * Division of Microbiology, Department of Preclinical Science, Faculty of Medicine, Thammasat University, Pathumthani, Thailand ** Division of Pharmacology, Department of Preclinical Science, and Research Unit of Pharmacology and Toxicology of Herbal Medicine, Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Thammasat University, Pathumthani, Thailand *** Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand **** Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences, US Army Medical Component, Bangkok, Thailand
Objective : To evaluate the in vitro and in vivo antiplasmodial activity and the cytotoxicity of Phyllanthus emblica Linn,
Terminalia chebula Retz, and Terminalia bellerica (Gaertn) Roxb extracts.
Material and Method: Standard phytochemical screening tests were used to detect metabolites in the plant extract. The water
extracts of medicinal plants were tested for their antiplasmodial activity in vitro by assessing their ability to inhibit the uptake
of [3H] hypoxanthine into the Plasmodium falciparum K1 multidrug-resistant strain. Cytotoxicity of all extracts was determined
on Vero cell line. The in vivo antiplasmodial activity in Plasmodium berghei infected mice was evaluated by the standard 4-
day suppressive test.
Results : Phytochemical screening of the water extracts of three plants revealed the presence of flavonoids, hydrolysable
tannins, saponin and terpenes. All plant extracts showed antimalarial activity (IC50 values ranging from 14.33 + 0.25-15.41
+ 0.61 μg/ml). The water extract of Terminalia bellerica (Gaertn) Roxb had the highest in vitro antiplasmodial activity
followed by Phyllanthus emblica Linn. and Terminalia chebula Retz. The cytotoxic activity was exhibited by all plant extracts
on Vero cells with IC50 values of 157.86 to 238.70 mg/ml. All of the plant extracts showed selectivity with the selectivity index
(SI) ranged from 11 to 17. A standard 4-day suppressive test on P. berghei infected mice was used to evaluate the in vivo
antiplasmodial activity of the extracts at 250 mg/kg/day. The results revealed that in vivo antiplasmodial activity with good
suppression activity ranged from 53.40% to 69.46%.
Conclusion : All of the plant extracts exhibited interesting in vitro and in vivo antiplasmodial activity with good selectivity.
Keywords : Phyllanthus emblica, Terminalia chebula, Terminalia bellerica, Antiplasmodial activity, Cytotoxicity
