Cajachalcone: An Antimalarial Compound fromCajanus cajanLeaf Extract

Abstract

Cajanus cajanL, a member of the family Fabaceae, was identified from the Nigerian antimalarial ethnobotany as possessing antimalarial properties. The bioassay-guided fractionation of the crude methanol extract ofC. cajanleaves was donein vitrousing the multiresistant strain ofPlasmodium falciparum(K1) in the parasite lactate dehydrogenase assay. Isolation of compound was achieved by a combination of chromatographic techniques, while the structure of the compound was elucidated by spectroscopy. This led to the identification of a cajachalcone, 2′,6′-dihydroxy-4-methoxy chalcone, as the biologically active constituent from the ethyl acetate fraction. Cajachalcone had an IC50value of 2.0 μg/mL (7.4 μM) and could be a lead for anti-malarial drug discovery.