Antiplasmodial and cytotoxic activities of medicinal plants traditionally used in the village of Kiohima, Uganda

Aim of the study: In Uganda, malaria is the most common disease and Ugandan people largely rely on traditional medicine. In this context, we carried out an ethnobotanical study on the Kiohima village, located close to the Kibale National Park in South-Western Uganda and investigated in vitro the antiplasmodial and cytotoxic activities of selected medicinal plants. Materials and methods: Seventy-five plants-using adults (men and women) were interviewed to find out their plant use. From these information, 48 plants used in traditional medicine were identified and according to their reported uses and to bibliographic data, several parts of 28 plants (leaves, barks, roots), were selected and collected for biological evaluations. These samples were dried, extracted with ethyl acetate and the crude extracts were assayed for in vitro antiplasmodial and cytotoxic activities at 10 μg/mL. Results: One third of the screened plants showed a significant antiplasmodial activity with inhibition greater than 50% at 10 μg/mL. Conclusion: These results may indicate a possible explanation of the use of some medicinal plant against malaria in the village of Kiohima and have also allowed to highlight a plant with potent antimalarial activity: Citropsis articulata root barks. © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.