Cultivating the African plant Ajuga remota in Belgium and confirming its biological activity against Plasmodium falciparum

Abstract

Ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological investigations led to identification of Ajuga remota Benth (Lamiaceae) as being fre¬quently used in herbal medicine treatment of malaria in Kenya. The antimalarial activity of the plant has been confirmed by in vitro te¬sting against Plasmodium falciparum. In order to ensure a continuous production of plant material we started local cultures in Leuven (Belgium), Micropropagation of Ajuga remota starting from seeds on a general culture medium was not successful, Sowing the seeds in full soil in the greenhouse resulted in a germination rate of more than 75 %. Intensive watering was necessary to initiate germination, Within 4months the plant could be harvested and decoctions were prepa¬red from the dried material. The antimalarial activity of Belgian Ajuga remota decoctions in vitro expressed as ICso (mean :t SO) was 998 :t 168 j.lglml, This was comparable with the ICso of Kenyan grown Ajuga remota: 974 :t 772 j.lg/ml. Greenhouse cultivation seems to provide satisfying conditions to grow enough plants and enabling further research into validating Kenyan herbal medicine practice