Screening of Different Extracts from Artemisia Species for Their Potential Antimalarial Activity

The formation of hemozoin (malaria pigment) has been proposed as an ideal drug target for antimalarial screening programs. In this study, we used an improved, cost-effective and high-throughput spectrophotometric assay to screen plant extracts for finding novel antimalarial plant sources. Fifteen extracts with different polarity from three Iranian Artemisia species, A. ciniformis, A. biennis and A. turanica, were assessed for their antimalarial activity by in vitro β-hematin formation assay. The most potent effect was observed in dichloromethane (DCM) extract of A. ciniformis with IC50 and IC90 values of 0.92 ± 0.01 and 1.29 ± 0.02 mg/mL, respectively. Ethyl acetate (EtOAC) extracts of A. biennis and A. turanica also showed significant antimalarial activities with IC50 values of 1.11 ± 0.02 and 1.35 ± 0.08 mg/mL and IC90 values of 1.22 ± 0.04 and 2.81 ± 0.21 mg/mL, respectively. Based on these results, it is possible to conclude that the components with strong antimalarial activity have been concentrated in the medium-polar extracts.