Drug Resistant Malarial Parasite Versus Natural Plant Alkaloids

Abstract

Malaria is a significant public health concern in developed countries. Every year, the epidemic destroys a vast amount of citizens and has an economic impact on many nations. Resistance of the causative factor, the plasmodium parasite, to current treatments such as mefloquine, artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), and chloroquine is a major problem in control and prevention of malaria across the world. This necessitates a hasty search for new compounds, especially those derived from natural resources like medicinal plants. Plants, especially used in Ayurveda, may offer bioactive compounds and lead structures that can be used to produce modified variants with improved activity and/or lower toxicity. Alkaloids have been identified as essential phytoconstituents with intriguing biological properties over time. Quinine, an alkaloid isolated from the Cinchona flower, was the first effective antimalarial compound. The impact of different plant-derived alkaloids on the malarial parasite, which has established resistance to existing synthetic drugs due to concurrent usage, is the subject of this review.