Abstract

Malaria is a major scourge of most countries in Africa which continues to defy science and technology. Several medicinal plants are traditionally used for the treatment of malaria and other protozoa infections. We aimed to assess by the Double-site Enzyme-linked Lactate dehydrogenase enzyme Immuno-detection (DELI) test for the first time in Senegal, Plasmodium falciparum isolates in vitro susceptibility to Tea Artemisia annua (TAA). In total, 40 field isolates have been tested and the mean IC₅₀ was 0.095 µg/ml, while the IC₅₀ for the 3D7 and W2 laboratory adapted strains were 0.14 and 0.39 µg/ml, respectively. Tea A. annua sensitivity was not obtained for three isolates because of lack of growth. The results suggest that tea A. annuahas potent antiplasmodial activity against P. falciparum strains collected in Pikine, Senegal.

Key words: Artemisia annua, enzyme-linked lactate dehydrogenase enzyme immuno-detection (DELI), Plasmodium falciparum, IC₅₀.