Antiplasmodial Property of Glycyrrhiza glabra Traditionally Used for Malaria in Iran: Promising Activity with High Selectivity Index for Malaria

• Main Authors: Ali Ramazani, Mahdi Tavakolizadeh, Samira Ramazani, Hamidreza Kheiri-Manjili, Mehdi Eskandari
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tehran University of Medical Sciences 2018-06-01
• Series: Journal of Arthropod-Borne Diseases
• Subjects: Glycyrrhiza glabra, Malaria, Traditional medicine, Plasmodium berghei, Iran
• Online Access: http://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/view/884
• ISSN: 1735-7179; 2322-2271

<p><strong>Background</strong>: Development of resistance against the frontline anti-malarial drugs has created an alarming situation, which requires intensive drug discovery to develop new, more effective, affordable and accessible anti-malarial agents. The aim of this study was to assess antiplasmodial activity of the different fractions of root extract of <em>Glycyr­rhiza glabra.</em><strong><br />Methods</strong>: Roots of <em>G. glabra</em> were collected from Tarom district of Zanjan Province in 2016 and then dried root ma­terial was chopped and consecutively extracted by the percolation method using solvents of different polarity. Result­ing extracts were assessed for in vitro and in vivo anti-malarial and cell cytotoxicity activities.<strong><br />Results</strong>: Among the three different solvent fractions studied, water-methanol and ethyl acetate fractions showed promising in vitro antiplasmodial activity against CQ-sensitive <em>Plasmodium falciparum</em> 3D7 strain (IC₅₀= 9.95 and 13µg/ml, respectively). Further, the selectivity indices (HeLa cells <em>versus P. falciparum</em>) for the promising water-methanol fraction showed selectivity for <em>P. falciparum</em> and potential safer therapy for human. Interestingly, water-methanol and ethyl acetate fractions showed a significant suppression of parasite growth (72.2% and 65%, respec­tively) in comparison with control group in mice infected with <em>P</em><em>.</em><em> berghei</em> (P&lt; 0.05).<strong></strong><strong><br />Conclusion</strong>: The promising antiplasmodial activity of the aqueous fraction of <em>G. glabra</em> obtained in our study war­rant bioassay-guided fractionation of this fraction to identify active principles responsible for antiplasmodial activity.</p>