Enenebeaku, UE; Duru, CE; Mgbemena, IC; Ukwandu, NCD; Nwigwe, HC; Enenebeaku, CK; Okotcha, EN
The constant emergence of resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum has necessitated the continuous screening of traditional plants such that novel and effective antimalarial drugs will be developed. The antiplasmodial activity of the methanol root extract of Dictyandra arborescens against Plasmodium berghei was determined in vivo and the active compounds responsible for the observed activity identified in silico. Column chromatography was used to determine the solvent fraction containing the active compounds. All fractions reduced percentage parasitaemia in the treated mice, and hexane fraction showed significant (p Ë 0.05) antimalarial activity. The hexane fraction gave two eluates coded EA and EB whose bioactive components were determined using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). Eluate EA gave 11 compounds (propane 1,2-dichloro propane, hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester, n-hexadecanoic acid, 9,17 octadecadienal, (Z)-, cis-13-octadecenoic acid, methyl ester, 6-octadecenoic acid, methyl ester, (Z)-, heptadecanoic acid, 16-methyl, methyl ester and bis (2-ethylhexyl) phtalate). In comparison, eluate EB gave 16 compounds (carbonic acid, prop-1-en-2-yl tetradecyl ester, 5-octadecene, (E)-, isobutyl tetradecyl carbonate, hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester, n-hexadecanoic acid butyl octadecyl ether, 10-octadecenoic acid, methyl ester, cyclopropaneoctanoic acid, 2-hexyl-2,3-divinyloxirane and carbonic acid, dodecyl 2,2,2-trichloroethyl ester). These compounds were subjected to molecular docking against Lactate dehydrogenase and Plasmepsin II enzymes from P. berghei. Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and bis(3-methylbutan-2-yl) phthalate gave binding affinity values close to artesunate for the two protein targets. The antimalarial potential of D. arborescens root as a novel source of an antimalarial drug is thus validated. © 2021 Enenebeaku et al.