Antiplasmodial Potential of Lantana undulata

Lantana undulata Schrank (Verbenaceae) is a shrub 0.15–2 m alt. that is often grown as ornamental plants for decorative purposes due to the beauty of their flowers. This species has as characteristics corolla longer than the bracts, broad-oval external bracts and occurs in Brazil from Pernambuco to Santa Catarina [1]. Species of the genus Lantana has been widely studied because they have several biological properties such as anthelminthic, anti-protozoal, insecticidal and anti-viral activities [2]. The organic extract from aerial parts (SisGen A5D99AD) of the plant were obtained by maceration with mixture of dichloromethane and methanol (1:1) and evaluated against Plasmodium falciparum (W2 clone, chloroquine-resistant) [3]. It showed IC50 value of 20.2 μg/ml and was subjected (1.7 g) to chromatographic fractionation by gel permeation using Sephadex LH-20 and ethanol as mobile phase and yielded 16 sub-fractions after TLC analysis. Sub-fractions 1 and 2 showed moderated activity with IC50 values of 15.4 and 17.5 μg/ml, respectively, with SI values of 11 comparison to monkey kidney cell line. Sub-fractions 3 and 4 had IC50 values of 10.0 and 6.2 μg/ml and SI values of 9 and 8, respectively. Chloroquine (IC50 0.19 μg/ml) was used as positive control. Chromatographic analysis suggested the presence of terpenes in sub-fractions 1-4 and the identification of active compounds is underway.