Antiplasmodial activity of the alkaloids of Peschiera fuchsiaefolia

The tertiary and quaternary alkaloids isolated from the stem bark, root bark and seeds of Peschiera fuchsiaefolia are reported. The tertiary alkaloid crude extract from the stem bark was tested in vitro against Plasmodium faliparum on the basis of the antimalarial use of the plant. It showed good activity against both the D-6 strain (IC50 = 495 ng/ml) and chloroquine-resistant W-2 strain (IC50 = 817 ng/ml) and voacamine was the most active of the tested alkaloids (IC50 = 238 ng/ml for D-6 and 290 ng/ml for W-2). The tertiary alkaloid crude extract from the root bark of the same plant is more active than voacamine (IC50 = 179 ng/ml for D-6 and 282 ng/ml for W-2 strain), and is particularly rich in dimeric alkaloids (0.22% of the vegetable material).