Ethnopharmacology and malaria: New hypothetical leads or old efficient antimalarials?

G. Bourdy, M. L. Willcox, H. Ginsburg, Ph Rasoanaivo, B. Graz, E. Deharo*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

48 Scopus citations

Abstract

New treatments are urgently needed to curb and eradicate malaria in developing countries. As most people living in malarial endemic areas use traditional medicine to fight this disease, why have new treatments not emerged recently from ethnopharmacology-oriented research? The rationale and limitations of the ethnopharmacological approach are discussed in this paper, focusing on ethnopharmacology methodologies and techniques used for assessing botanical samples for their antimalarial properties. Discrepancies often observed between strong ethnopharmacological reputation and laboratory results are discussed, as well as new research perspectives.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)33-41
Number of pages9
JournalInternational Journal for Parasitology
Volume38
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2008

Keywords

  • Alternative medicine
  • Ethnopharmacology
  • Malaria
  • Medicinal plant
  • Plasmodium
  • Traditional treatment

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Ethnopharmacology and malaria: New hypothetical leads or old efficient antimalarials?'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this