Abstract
In a phytochemical investigation of the rhizomes of Kniphofia reflexa, an endemic plant used to treat relapsing fevers in Kejom, northwestern Cameroon, 12 known (
Introduction
Malaria is one of the main life-threatening illnesses, despite enormous efforts in research, being one of the main causes of disease and death worldwide. 1 In 2020, 90% of malaria cases and deaths occurred in Africa. 2 Malaria is still a challenge to humans as the incidence of drug resistance keeps rising, coupled with a lack of therapies that can efficiently target the intricate life cycle of the malaria parasite.3,4 Resistance to artemisinin, 5 the most recommended component for malarial combination therapies, is reported in sub-Saharan Africa and other centers of endemism. 6 Because of the use of Kniphofia reflexa Hutchinson ex Codd. Asphodelaceae in the treatment of relapsing fevers, supported by literature data on the antiplasmodial activities within classes of natural products like terpenes,7‐10 flavonoids,11‐13 alkaloids,14‐17 quassinoids,7,18 xanthones,19‐22 quinones, and anthraquinones,23‐29 a needed study of this plant was conducted considering its unique endemic nature, coupled to its classification. To the best of our knowledge, no study is reported on the antiplasmodial and antimalarial potential of chemical constituents of K reflexa.
Results and Discussion
Identification of Compounds
Phytochemical study of the rhizome of K reflexa (Asphodelaceae) led to the isolation of 12 previously described compounds (

Isolated compounds from rhizomes of Kniphofia reflexa.
Antimalarial Activities
Among the pure compounds and methanol (MeOH) crude extract assessed for in vitro antiplasmodial activity on chloroquine-sensitive (D6) and chloroquine-resistant (W2) strains of Plasmodium falciparum, the extract exhibited the best activity (IC50 1.06 ± 0.22 against D6; 1.08 ± 0.12 against W2). All anthraquinone dimers showed some activity, with cassiamin C (
In the in vivo study, at the maximum dose of 5000 mg/kg body weight, animals treated with the MeOH crude extract survived the 14-day observation period, as well as a constant increase in body weight during an acute toxicity test, attesting the safety of K reflexa in the treatment of malaria. On a 4-day study period, the in vivo suppression of Plasmodium berghei by the crude extract showed a significant suppression of 12.7% ± 1.1% of the parasites as opposed to 14.6% ± 2.0% by quinine (Supplemental Table S2 and Figure S1). However, the extract could not satisfactorily clear the parasites on a 5-day curative period as compared to quinine in the curative test (Supplemental Table S3 and Figure S2). The low acute cytotoxicity is indicative of the fact that the suppression or clearance of the parasites is due to the combined activities of contained phytochemicals and not toxicity.
Experimental
General Experimental Procedures
Optical rotations were determined on a JASCO P-2000 polarimeter, while infrared spectra were measured on a JASCO J-810 spectrophotometer. For thin-layer chromatography, silica gel 60F254 and RP-18F254 were used, coated on aluminum sheets and glass, respectively. Merck silica gel 60 and Sephadex LH-20 were used for column chromatography. Preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was performed using SIL D-60-10 and ODS-M-80 columns on LC-90BW and LC908C machines, respectively (Japan Analytical Industry Co. Ltd). A JOEL MS600H-1 mass spectrometer was used to record mass spectrometry (MS), and a MAT95XP recorded high-resolution electron ionization-MS. 1D and 2D NMR spectra were obtained using an Avance AV-500 MHz spectrophotometer, and an Avance AV-400 MHz spectrophotometer from Bruker was used for 13C-NMR spectra.
Plant Material
K reflexa was collected in February 2015 from Lake Bambili, North-West Region of Cameroon (altitude: 2320 m above sea level; latitude: 5°55′28.49′′ and longitude: 10°14′41.03′′) and identified by Mr. Tadjouteu Fulbert, at the National Herbarium of Cameroon in Yaoundé, where a specimen is deposited (collection No. 66930/HNC).
Extraction and Isolation
Rhizomes of K reflexa were airdried and powdered (4.5 kg) prior to extraction with MeOH at ambient temperature for 96 h to obtain 461 g of crude extract. Part of this (450 g) was separated in 500 mL fractions by flash chromatography using an evolving solvent system from n-hexane, through ethyl acetate to MeOH; these were regrouped to get 14 fractions (F.1-14). From the isocratic CC of F.12 (1.4 g), 2 subfractions F.12-1 (62 mg) and F.12-2 (93 mg) were selected. F.12-2 on synchronized Sephadex LH-20 at 50% dichloromethane (DCM)/MeOH and 100% MeOH yielded compound
Acetylation of Kniphofiarexine (12 )
Compound
Antimalaria Tests
The activity of K reflexa was investigated on chloroquine-sensitive (D6) and chloroquine-resistant (W2) strains of P falciparum according to the method of Trager and Jensen, with adaptation. 43 Uninfected O+ human red blood cells, supplemented by RPMI-1640 and solutions, obtained from Corning®, were used for in vitro antiplasmodial tests. The solutions used were sterilized using syringe-adapted 0.22 µm filters, and 96 well microtiter plates (Costar®) were used. The concentration inhibiting 50% of the growth of parasites (IC50) was assessed using GraphPad Prism version 7.03. For in vivo antimalarial tests, 6-8-week-old male and female BALB/C mice were used, of body weight 27-32 g, kept at room temperature and with a 12 h light/12 h dark cycle, with sufficient food and water. P berghei strain was offered by BEI-Resources.
In the in vivo antimalarial tests, 5 mg of crude extract was dissolved in 200 µL dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO; Sigma) and then diluted with purified water to obtain stock solutions. Male and female BALB/C mice (6-8 weeks and 27-32 g) were maintained in the MRABL animal house of the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Buea at 25 °C with a 12 h light/12 h dark cycle, with enough food and water. All universally agreed guidelines on animal use in laboratory experiments were observed. The protocol was appraised and accepted by the University of Buea Institutional Ethics Review Board for Animal Use. BEI-Resources donated the P berghei. Serial passage of blood from infected mice to noninfected mice was made every week to maintain the parasites. 44 To inoculate the parasites, 20% to 30% of hitherto infected P berghei albino mice were used as donors. They were sedated and sacrificed through the thoracic region to expose the heart. Heparinized tubes containing 0.5% trisodium citrate were used to collect blood by cardiac puncture. Blood was diluted with 0.9% saline depending on the parasitemia of the donor. 45
In vivo suppressive assessment of P berghei lasted 4 days to measure the schizontocidal potential of tested samples against P berghei-infected BALB/C mice, after a previously described method with necessary alterations.
45
Animals were given 400 mg/kg daily enteral dose of the extract dissolved in 100 µL of 2% DMSO/H2O. In total, 10 mg/kg body weight of quinine was administered as a positive control to another group, whereas the negative control animals received only 100 µL of the vehicle. The endurance rate was observed every day for 2 weeks after inoculation. Parasitemia and percentage inhibition were evaluated by Giemsa-stained thin blood smears from the tail of each animal on the 5th day.
46
The percentage of parasite growth suppression was projected using the following equation:
In vivo curative test (Rane test) was used to establish the curative potential of the samples, following the previously described method. 47 Animals in the negative control group received corresponding volumes of 2% DMSO in distilled water (vehicle) daily. Giemsa-stained thin blood films were prepared every day for 5 days to monitor parasitemia. 42 Mean endurance times for the groups were established over a period of 2 weeks.
Conclusion
The chemical study of the rhizomes of K reflexa led to the isolation of twelve previously described compounds (
Supplemental Material
sj-docx-1-npx-10.1177_1934578X221133582 - Supplemental material for In Vitro and in Vivo Evaluation of the Antimalarial Activities of Kniphofia reflexa Hutchinson ex Codd
Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-npx-10.1177_1934578X221133582 for In Vitro and in Vivo Evaluation of the Antimalarial Activities of Kniphofia reflexa Hutchinson ex Codd by Denis Kehdinga Sema, Alain Meli Lannang, Denis Zofou, Mujeeb- ur-Rehman, Tegha Hycienth Fung and Virginie Flaure Tsague Tankeu, Jean Duplex Wansi, Norbert Sewald, M. Iqbal Choudhary in Natural Product Communications
Footnotes
Authors’ Contributions
DKS contributed to conceptualization, investigation, methodology, and writing—original draft. AML contributed to supervision and writing—review & editing. DZ contributed to biological analysis. MR contributed to methodology and writing—review & editing. THF contributed to writing & review. VFTT contributed to formal analysis and resources. JDW contributed to supervision and writing—review & editing. NS contributed to supervision and writing—review & editing. MIC contributed to supervision and writing—review & editing.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: AML was supported by Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung through the George Forster Fellowship for Experienced Researchers (ID No. 1137675) at Bielefeld University. The phytochemical work was done at NAPEC, the University of Maroua, and at HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry, ICCBS, University of Karachi, Pakistan during an ICCBS-TWAS PhD Research Fellowship 2016 to DKS. The pharmacological work was financially supported by TWAS Research Grant No. 14-150 RG/BIO/AF/AC_I - UNESCO FR: 324028598 and IFS Grant No. F/5122-2F awarded to DZ.
Ethical Considerations
Ethical approval to report this case was obtained from the University of Buea Ethical Review Board.
Statement of Human and Animal Rights
All the experiments were performed in accordance with both the national and international ethical guidelines for the care and use of animals in research. A proposal, describing the handling and treatment of animals was submitted, reviewed, and approved by the University of Buea Ethical Review board for the use of animals in research under Reference UB-IACUC No. 005/2018.
Statement of Informed Consent
There are no human subjects in this article and informed consent is not applicable.
Supplemental Material
Supplemental material for this article is available online.
References
Supplementary Material
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