ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NEW COMPOUNDS FROM Strychnos henningsii AND THEIR ANTI-MALARIAL ACTIVITIES

Abstract

Traditional medicines play an important role in the management of common fever associated with malarial symptoms, particularly in the rural Africa. However, their potential use as sources of medicines has not been fully exploited or even identified to know the active compounds. The present study was carried out to confirm the medicinal value of Strychnos henningsii in treating malaria as it has been traditionally used by the Kamba herbalist of Machakos, and Makueni and Embu Counties. The herbalists assisted in the identification, collection and use of this plant .the dried leaves were extracted with organic solvents of different polarities to yield crude extracts. The combined crude extract was subjected to chromatographic separation technique to yield pure crystalline compounds. Their structures were determined by the employment of spectroscopic technique especially proton NMR and 13C which yielded nine compounds of which seven turned out to be new and unique indole alkaloids. The other two their structures could not be determined because the amount were too small for structural determination. The crude extract was tested for larvicidal activity against mosquito larvae and bioassay against Plasmodium falciparum that showed high activity.