Antiplasmodial activity of New Caledonia and Vanuatu traditional medicines

Context: With the emergence of strains multiresistant to antimalarial drugs, the search for new active molecules remains a priority. Ethnopharmacology appears to be a good method of selection in such investigations.Objective: The aim of this research work is to select plants used in Melanesian traditional medicine, in New Caledonia and Vanuatu, which should be a promising source for the isolation of new antimalarial drugs.Materials and methods: Forty-seven plant extracts belonging to 12 families, traditionally used by the Melanesian people or belonging to an antimalarial known genus, were screened in vitro for antimalarial activity on Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine (CQ)-resistant (FcB1) and CQ-sensitive (HB3) strains. They were also tested for their inhibitory effects on a protein kinase (Pfnek) and their cytotoxicity on human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF7) cells.Results: Among all extracts, four displayed strong in vitro activities against P. falciparum: Gardenia urvillei Montrouzier, Scleria polycarpa ...