Andrographolide: A Novel Antimalarial Diterpene Lactone Compound from Andrographis paniculata and Its Interaction with Curcumin and Artesunate

Andrographolide (AND), the diterpene lactone compound, was purified by HPLC from the methanolic fraction of the plant Andrographis paniculata. The compound was found to have potent antiplasmodial activity when tested in isolation and in combination with curcumin and artesunate against the erythrocytic stages of Plasmodium falciparum in vitro and Plasmodium berghei ANKA in vivo. IC(50)s for artesunate (AS), andrographolide (AND), and curcumin (CUR) were found to be 0.05, 9.1 and 17.4 μM, respectively. The compound (AND) was found synergistic with curcumin (CUR) and addictively interactive with artesunate (AS). In vivo, andrographolide-curcumin exhibited better antimalarial activity, not only by reducing parasitemia (29%), compared to the control (81%), but also by extending the life span by 2-3 folds. Being nontoxic to the in vivo system this agent can be used as template molecule for designing new derivatives with improved antimalarial properties.