Exploring the Antimalarial Potential of Gnetum gnemon Leaf Extract Against Plasmodium berghei in Mice

Malaria remains a critical global health issue, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions. The disease, caused by Plasmodium parasites, is transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes and can lead to severe complications and death if untreated. The emergence of drug-resistant strains highlights the urgent need for new antimalarial agents. Gnetum gnemon, a plant native to Southeast Asia, has shown promise due to its rich bioactive compounds. This study aims to evaluate the suppressive, curative, and prophylactic antimalarial potential of Gnetum gnemon leaf extract (GGE) against Plasmodium berghei in mice. GGE was prepared using a combination of hot water extraction and microwave-assisted heating. Acute toxicity tests revealed no significant adverse effects at a dose of 3000 mg/kg. The doses of 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg were selected based on preliminary toxicity assessments to systematically investigate the dose-dependent antimalarial efficacy of the extract. Suppressive tests showed that GGE at doses of 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg significantly reduced parasitemia levels, with the highest dose achieving a 63.97% inhibition. In these tests, GGE also increased the mean survival time (MST) of treated mice compared to untreated controls. However, GGE did not exhibit significant curative effects, as parasitemia levels in the treated groups were similar to the untreated control group. Prophylactic tests indicated that GGE pretreatment did not significantly reduce parasitemia levels or improve MST compared to controls, unlike chloroquine (CQ), which demonstrated potent prophylactic efficacy with a significant increase in MST. These findings suggest that while GGE has notable suppressive antimalarial activity, it does not exhibit strong curative or prophylactic effects at the tested doses. This study contributes to the understanding of plant-based antimalarial agents and underscores the importance of continued exploration of natural products for malaria treatment.