Evaluation of in vitro schizontocidal activity of plant parts of Calotropis procera-an ethnobotanical approach

Calotropis procera (Ait.) R.Br. commonly known, as 'Arka' is a popular medicinal plant found throughout the tropics of Asia and Africa and is used in many traditional systems of medicine. Important factors of the various parts of this plant have been widely reported. Good record keeping of subjective and objectively recorded cures by practitioners of traditional medicinal system will help in the establishment of the use of C. procera as an antimalarial plant. It has been attempted to see the effect of crude fractions of its flower, bud and roof against a chloroquine sensitive strain, MRC 20 and a chloroquine resistant strain, MRC 76 of Plasmodium falciparum using the Desjardins method and the effectiveness of its fractions compare better with the CQ sensitive strain than the CQ resistant strain in vitro. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.