n-Butanol Fraction of Dioscorea dumetorum Tuber Aqueous Extract Exhibited Potent Antimalarial Activity in Plasmodium berghei-infected Mice.

PURPOSE: Dioscorea dumetorum (locally known as Esuru {Yoruba tribe of Nigeria}) has been claimed to be used in folk medicine for the management of malaria without information on the anti-plasmodial rich fraction. It is against this background that the current study was designed to provide information on the anti-plasmodial rich fraction of Dioscorea dumetorium tubers.

METHODS

The n-hexane (nHF), ethylacetate (EAF), and n-butanol (nBF) fractions obtained from D. dumetorum tubers were screened for anti-plasmodial activity. The most potent fraction, nBF, was further subjected to column chromatography and the resulting three sub-fractions (CCF1-CCF3) were equally screened for anti-plasmodial activity. The most potent sub-fraction, CCF1, was chemically profiled using HPLC.

RESULTS

The results revealed that the nBF and CCF1 demonstrated the most profound inhibition (p < 0.05) of parasite growth by 49.13% and 40.80% respectively. The CCF1contained 11 chemical compounds with allantoin and protodioscin being relatively the most abundant. The significant and dose-dependent suppression of parasitemia by the n-BF and its CCF1 in the murine model conferred potent anti-plasmodial activity on them.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the nBF and CCF1 from the D. dumetorum tubers represents a promising and pharmacologically relevant source for the development of novel antimalarial therapies or lead compounds.