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

Abstract

Background: 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 Glycyr­rhiza glabra. Methods: Roots of G. glabra 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. Results: Among the three different solvent fractions studied, water-methanol and ethyl acetate fractions showed promising in vitro antiplasmodial activity against CQ-sensitive Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 strain (IC50= 9.95 and 13µg/ml, respectively). Further, the selectivity indices (HeLa cells versus P. falciparum) for the promising water-methanol fraction showed selectivity for P. falciparum 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 P. berghei (P< 0.05). Conclusion: The promising antiplasmodial activity of the aqueous fraction of G. glabra obtained in our study war­rant bioassay-guided fractionation of this fraction to identify active principles responsible for antiplasmodial activity.