Medicinal plants and malaria

OBJECTIVE To carry out a literature survey on medicinal plants documented for use in malaria,and to create a comprehensive database documenting the usage and preparation of these medicinal plants for malaria.METHODS A search was done through Scopus,ScienceDirect,and PubMed,on all ethnobotanical surveys that were specifically done on medicinal plants used in malaria using the keywords″ethnobotanical″,″survey″,″ethnopharmacological″,and″malaria″.In addition,Dr Duke′s Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Database,and books on medicinal plants from the Library of Botany and Horticulture,Singapore Botanic Gardens,and the Medical and Science Libraries,National University of Singapore,were used in the search.Plants used specifically as quinine substitutes were also included.Plants that were reported to be used solely for fever(other than malarial fever),external application,or insect repelling property,were excluded.Data collected were analyzed according to family,genus,location of use,method of preparation,part used,and indication(treatment and/or prevention).RESULTS A total of 1739 plants from 185 families and 973 genera were reportedly used for malaria globally,with 59 plantsused in three or more continents.Of these,11 were used in four continents for malaria,and 7of these can be found in Singapore.Anti-malarial plants from the family Fabaceae and the genus Vernoniawere the most commonly reported.Most of the plants are prepared as decoctions,followed by infusions.Leaves were most frequently used,followed by roots,and bark.97.8% of the plants are used solely for curative purposes,1.8% of the plants are both curative and prophylactic,while 0.4% are solely prophylactic.Priority of plants for further research could either focus on geographical extent of use,plant family,or genus.CONCLUSION An extensive database documenting the medicinal plants used for malaria has been compiled.Sustained interest in anti-malarial medicinal plant research is evident over the past decade.Promising plants for further research is presented.