A review on investigation of antimalarial principles of zanthoxylum chalybeum.

Abstract

Zanthoxylum commonly referred as ‘yellow wood’ oreusuk (Ateso), Luganda (ntale yedungu), Lugwere (Musuku), Luo A (Kichuk,roki). Zanthoxylum chalybeum has been reported as an important medicinal plant for malaria treatment, fever, cough, headaches, chest pain, digestive illnesses (e.g. ulcers), diabetes and toothache. The effectiveness of Z. chalybeum as an herbal medicine has been associated with the presence of bioactive compounds alkaloids (tembetarine; nitidine and skimmianine) which have been known as Anti-malaria secondary metabolite. Benzophenanthridine alkaloids; chelery-thrine and nitidine within root barks of Z. chalybeum have been effectively used as anti-inflammatory activities. Other bioactive compounds reported to be found in Z. chalybeum are flavonoids, terpenoids, saponins, tannins, phenols and glycosides. The major purpose of this review is to investigate the anti plasmodial activity of the crude ether and methanol leaf extracts of ZC with chloroquine diphosphate as a positive control of malaria. KEYWORDS: Plasmodium falciparum, Z. chalybeum, antioxidant, photochemistry,