Antimalarial Medicinal Plants: Evidence and Gaps

Nakawungu Catherine

Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Biotechnology Kampala International University Uganda

Email: catherine.nakawungu@studwc.kiu.ac.ug

ABSTRACT

Malaria remains a global health burden, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where rising drug resistance and treatment costs necessitate alternative therapeutic strategies. Medicinal plants, long central to traditional medicine, represent a valuable reservoir of bioactive compounds with proven and potential antimalarial properties. Historically significant agents such as quinine (from Cinchona bark) and artemisinin (from Artemisia annua) highlight the enduring importance of plant-derived compounds in malaria chemotherapy. Ethnobotanical surveys across Africa and Asia document thousands of plant species used in malaria management, though only a fraction have been systematically investigated. Phytochemicals including alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, and phenolics demonstrate significant in vitro and in vivo antiplasmodial activity, acting through diverse mechanisms such as inhibition of hemozoin formation, interference with parasite metabolism, and immunomodulation. Despite promising laboratory findings, translation into clinical application remains limited due to variability in plant sourcing, extraction methods, bioavailability, and lack of mechanistic and safety studies. Regulatory and standardization challenges further hinder phytomedicine development. This review synthesizes evidence on antimalarial medicinal plants, highlighting validated agents, mechanisms of action, clinical potential, and the research and regulatory gaps that must be addressed to advance phytochemical-based malaria therapeutics.

Keywords: Antimalarial plants, Phytochemicals, Plasmodium resistance, Ethnobotany, and Drug discovery.

CITE AS: Nakawungu Catherine (2025). Antimalarial Medicinal Plants: Evidence and Gaps. IDOSR JOURNAL OF APPLIED SCIENCES 10(3):10-20. https://doi.org/10.59298/IDOSRJAS/2025/103.1020